The Brewing Storm
by HerMajestyTravesty
Summary: Alaizabel Greyson is a conundrum - mysterious yet completely unaware that she is. With the distrust Edward Cullen feels for her growing by the moment, and the strange noises he hears from her mind, can the Cullens and Bella ever discover what she is?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, welcome to the second installment of the 'Storm' series. For those of you that are completely new to my fan fiction, you may want to read 'The Quiet Before the Storm' before you read this, other wise you'll get majorly confused. ******

**For those returning to the fan fic, congrats! You've made it this far! I hope the suspense hasn't been too much – oh what am I saying, I hope it has! Means you guys like it. Please feel free to send me all your wonderful thoughts, and general comments.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Jacob/Bella/Edward - Witnesses

**JACOB:**  
Bella looked so beautiful today. I almost wished I hadn't asked the guys and the new girl along. But it was cool: Quil and Embry were arguing over the Lakers game that was on last night, and 'Laiz was very quiet. Bella was holding her hand, the red-head was shaking pretty bad. I didn't think it was _that_ cold, but then again how would I know, my body temperature was set permanently on "furnace".

"Jake, I know why you did it; I just think that you could have been a little more tactful. She doesn't know about anything..." Bella whispered.

"Please Bella, give me some credit! I wasn't about to go rattle the whole story. I just wanted to see the one person that spooked dear old Ed."

I wasn't lying. It was almost too funny. Edward, Mr. "_I'm-so-mature-and-wise-and-not-phased-by-anything_" was completely freaked out by a tiny little English girl who looked like she'd never said boo to a goose! The irony!

As I thought about her, I looked up. Whoa, she really wasn't kidding when Bella said she was scared. The girl had actually started to go blue; I think she'd stopped breathing!

"Alaizabel, you've gone blue in the face! Your life jackets are too tight, take one off" I said.

Stupid idea, wearing two lifejackets. It wouldn't make it any better than one.  
She shook her head like a stubborn kid. I sighed. Stubborn, just like Bella. Were all girls like this or were there _some _that listened?

I reached over and undid the ties of both the jackets, just to serve her right.  
"...and your still on the boat" I grinned. The girl would have to learn. Bella was staring at me poisonously but I didn't care. It was crazy how this girl was afraid of a bit of water when she had five bloodsuckers lurking around her classrooms!

Her face bleached of any colour at all, and her bright curious eyes turned hard and vengeful. Evil.

"g-g-g-GIVE THEM BACK!" she screeched and then she threw herself at me!

I just thought she'd trip up and land on the boat bottom so I dodged her, not making any attempt to catch her. But she stuck her foot out to take another leap at me, and it got caught in Embry's wire. She spun like a top and suddenly she was gone.

I didn't even hear the splash. I jumped to the edge of the boat and peered down into the grey water. Not a ripple, not a bubble, nothing.  
The sea had swallowed her whole.

**BELLA:**  
Jacob was being cruel to Alaizabel, whether he meant it or not. Edward had told me what he'd read in her thoughts about her accident. I would have been scared too the way he described it. She was shaking like a new born lamb, and I gripped her hand. It would have been inhuman not to try and help her in some way. She was suddenly so petrified and vulnerable; it made me want to bury her in life jackets. To protect her.  
Now i knew what Edward had meant about me.

I missed something that was said between her and Jacob, but suddenly Jacob had her life jackets. I guessed what he had done and why. I knew he was trying to help her get over the fear, but seriously, this was _not_ the time or place to do it.

She was still shaking, but now with fury rather than fear. I let go as her fingers twisted around my own in a painful claw.

She yelled at him to give them back and shot across the boat towards him. It was too fast for me to see what happened. I just saw her lean over one way, a fleeting look of desperate horror in her eyes, the wire caught around her legs and then she went overboard. I didn't even have time to try and reach out for her.

The force with which she went over snapped the wire on the edge of the boat. We couldn't pull her back up. We couldn't save her.  
We killed her.

**EDWARD:**  
I watched the boat from the shore. Normally, I was not permitted at La Push, but Carlisle had spoken to Billy Black and allowed me a one day permit of sorts.  
I saw the protective way Bella sat with Alaizabel. It was charming, and suited her well. My beloved lamb was becoming a lioness in her own right.

But I didn't smile. Alaizabel was relaying the day of her accident over and over again in her skull. She was focusing on the screaming. It didn't help my already battered psyche that she replayed them over and over again on top of the piercing ring that emanated from her.

All I'd been able to figure out was that she internally screamed with heightened emotions. Shock, sorrow and anger had all set them off. And she was a dweller. She would go over things in her mind that caused her pain in a sado-machistic fashion.

The ringing was painful. Physically painful. I didn't understand how it could hurt so much, as I hadn't felt physical pain since I was human, and those memories were blurred and smudged.

I wasn't concentrating on their conversations anymore, but I heard the distinct sound of Velcro being ripped open, and something about lifejackets.

The ringing increased ten fold and I fell to the ground in agonizing horror.

"BELLA, NO!" I shouted. Alaizabel was angry, and she was thinking the vilest, evil thoughts for a split second. She was a whole different person. And all I could think about was how I let Bella walk right into it.

I heard a few thuds, a zip of a wire and a gasp. Then nothing. I scanned the wolves' thoughts. Thank god, Bella was unscathed. But Alaizabel was nowhere.

Only then did it occur to me that the ringing had been silenced.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey all. Welcome back! Right so, this is where the action starts and I hope that it lives up to the expectations of all of you!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2 – Going Under

I was sinking like a stone, the light swiftly pulling away and leaving me in absolute blackness. My clothes were pulling me down further into the depths, and I was so paralyzed with fear that all my strength had left the muscles; I could practically feel it draining away from my arms and legs and into my heart. _Da-Dum! Da-Dum! Da-Dum!_ It was beating ferociously, so much that it hurt.

My lungs felt like they were about to explode. I needed air so badly, it was causing little fireworks to explode in front of my eyes. The pressure on me was mounting; the weight of the water was slowly starting to crush me. It was insane but instead of wanting the air I needed, all I wanted to do was scream. But my muscle reflexes prevented me from doing it, clamping my mouth shut in a water tight seal. I twisted and turned, attempting to find which way was up, but my legs were caught in the wire and I only spun on the spot, disorientating me further. Water rushed up my nose, setting my sinuses on fire. I couldn't take it anymore, my body was vibrating with the urge to scream, the water around me shimmering.

I fell limp, opening my mouth to let a tiny bubble of air out. And then I let rip.

I screamed as long and as hard as I could, the pressure around my head starting to clear. But then the water wanted to rush down my throat and invade my lungs, and I knew I couldn't stop it. This was the end. I'd die before I knew anything of adventure or love or anything important. Just another tragic teenage death. It made me laugh internally as I wondered if you could cry underwater.

I breathed in deep.

Pain flooded my system as the burning water coursed down my throat and was soaked up by my spongy lungs. I could feel the little pockets of alveoli bursting, like bubble wrap. But suddenly the pain stopped, and instead, I felt life returning to my heavy limbs. The stinging had subsided and now, it felt as natural as breathing.

But why did I feel the insane urge to scream again?

I did even though I had no air to do it with. Instead of the flurry of gurgling bubbles like last time, this time it was shimmering water and a high long piercing ring. I felt power building in my legs and I kicked, snapping the strong wire. I breathed in deep again, the water I so feared now ambrosia. I screamed again. Was it screaming really, or singing? I manipulated my vocal chords and changed the note. Yes, I was singing. I kicked again and I felt the water _whoosh_ past me. What on God's earth? I was swimming now?! I had to be dead – you know how they say that your life flashes in front of your eyes? Perhaps instead it shows you a more comforting image than reality – that instead of floundering as I drowned, I was swimming as well as any Phelps or Spitz.

After a couple minutes I noticed that to swim, I needed to sing. It was like cranking a generator. But the song was nothing I'd ever heard before. I wasn't even a great singer to begin with! But the tune found its way up my throat and into the water, changing key and harmony without my instruction. This must be heaven, as I felt sheer and utter bliss with each intake of salt water and every explosion of song from my waterlogged lungs.

My eyes adjusted to the dark and I saw where the light was, kicking ferociously towards it, singing the whole way. It only took 3 strokes before I breached, flying high up into the air like a bullet. I could see very clearly now, as the fog had receded to a fine mist. Jacobs boat. I smiled for a millisecond before gasping the strangely dry air in horror. The boat was heading straight for rocks but they kept going as if they'd never seen them.

I fell back into the water, and screamed again, harder, faster and fearful. I swam with all my might towards them, praying that I was not too late, singing the eerie defiant song the entire time.

Cold hard hands gripped my legs and pulled me backwards through the water. They let go but less than a nanosecond later they were clamped over my mouth, disrupting my song. The strength left my legs instantly and I was feebly squirming as icy hands pulled me towards the surface.


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome all. **

**Ok, I've just realized that most of you don't know when this story is set. Think majorly after 'Eclipse' but almost as an alternative story to 'Breaking Dawn', or if that is too much for you, an extra story between E and BD. So there's all that fun tension between team E & J, but Bella is still human.**

**Righty-ho, onto the next chapter. This is an alternate perspective from the pervious chapter, set in Jacob's P.o.V. I hope I'm accurate, as I really only had a third of BD to see how Jacob thinks. :S**

**ENJOY!**

Chapter 3: Jacob: A Great & Terrible Cry

Bella was screaming.

"Alaizabel! Oh my God, _Alaizabel_! Jacob, help her!" she cried, tears of fear running swiftly down her pale cheeks.

Quil and Embry were scanning the water, looking for any trace of her. Crap, double crap. This was entirely my fault. Why did I have to go and be so stupid? Taking those life jackets was idiotic, I was really just trying to show off in front of Bella; never in a million years did I dream this would happen.  
I was leaning far over the edge of the boat, looking for a ripple, a bubble, a flash of colour in the murky water. Nothing. This was crazy; people don't just fall overboard and disappear, even if they can't swim! Where the hell was she?

I was shaking terribly, the oars rattling in their holds as I gripped the edge of the boat. I wanted to phase and use the superior senses of the wolf in me to find her. But if I did, the boat wouldn't hold me and would capsize, and there was no way I would put Bella in that kind of danger, not to mention how pissed Edward would be if I did.

"Jacob, please! You have to help her! WHY ARE YOU WAITING?!" Bella screamed in my ear. She was pushing me as if trying to tip me into the water, like she had the strength. No way could I find her in that water. The water was murky and very, very deep, she could be half way to the bottom by now! My natural instinct to jump in fought ferociously with my survival's logic. Damn it.

A couple bubbles broke the surface for a few seconds, but they stopped almost as soon as they started. My shoulders dropped, Quil and Embry looked at each other in horror struck realization.

"Jacob, please... you have to..." Bella sobbed quietly by my side. She knew it too. We were too late; Alaizabel had drowned. Horror made me shake now instead of the wolf. I'd have to go back for her body after the boat was back on the shore, and I felt physically sick at the thought of cradling a bloated, waterlogged body in my arms. I could imagine the warped, green face of Alaizabel, a parody of the childish, enigmatic one she'd had before. Bile fought it's way up my throat and I wretched over the side.

This was awful. I'd never really seen something this tragic happen to someone who wasn't _special_ in a weird way, being a natural magnet for danger. She was just a teenage girl, nothing weird or supernatural about her. Well, not much anyway. She could have had a normal life, could have fallen in love, and had a great career. She didn't deserve to die. Being surrounded by freakish people had doomed her. Instantly my hatred turned to Edward. If it had not been for his stupid mind-reading thing, no body would ever have know she was different! We would have left her alone, and she'd be ALIVE! He was practically a murderer in my eyes now more than ever. But then, it was me who'd invited her with us. No matter how much I spun it, the last crux had be down to me.

Bella wouldn't forgive me for this. I felt even more wretched when I realized I felt more upset about that than the girl's death, and attempted to hide my choked sobs as more vomiting.

Suddenly a great and terrible cry broke the dreadful silence. I stopped my breath half way up my throat, and made my heart split in two. I had never in all my life heard such a beautiful noise, such a song that made me want to follow it to the ends of the earth.

"Jake? Quil, Embry?! Guys, what is it?" Bella's dim voice sounded somewhere in the distance.  
The song paused for a moment, but when it sounded up again, it was a million times more potent, a gut wrenching, and adoring harmony. Whatever it was, it was calling to me, begging for _me_. _Me_. I was all it wanted, and the feeling was mutual. I knew what I had to do. I sat down and began rowing as hard as I physically could. Quil and Embry followed suit, and the love I felt for them increase 30 fold for helping me reach the source. Only Bella brought down the mood of wild ecstasy on the boat.

"Guys, what are you doing? What's going on? What about Alaizabel?!" She yelled, her voice harsh and uncouth compared to the flowing flawless voice on the wind. How could she still be thinking of the girl when that heart breaking voice was calling me? Where was her sense of priority?!

"STOP! There're rocks! STOP ROWING!" she called again, tugging on my arm as if she thought she had the strength to stop me. I shoved her hard away from me and growled, as she landed on the floor of the boat with a thud, staring at me with incomprehensible, defiant brown eyes that continued to over run with tears. I didn't see any rocks; she was just trying to trick me the vicious jealous girl. I would never stop rowing until I had reached the voice's singer, that amazing creature that had me totally irrevocably adoring it.

Suddenly, the voice stopped and my heart felt like it had been shattered, hot glass under cold water. But before the pain had time to register, rocks suddenly appeared, coming up sharp. Too sharp. I realized that with all 3 of us rowing, the boat had been going at the speed and force of a small truck. We couldn't stop in time and the rocks were sharp and huge. I grabbed Bella around the waist, suddenly fearful of her life and jumped over board, Embry and Quil following a millisecond after me. Cold water hit me hard and my body protested against the sudden freeze, but I swam to shore as if everything depended on it. The voice that had inspired feelings of wild euphoria moments before now chilled me to the bone as I recalled the literal blindness with which I had followed it.

I wanted to get as far away from it as possible, before I succumbed to its spell again.

**Ok, so what do you think? Did this chapter make sense now that you know what was happening on the other side of it?**

**In the next chapter, we're brought back to Alaizabel, (which is pronounced ah-LAYS-ah-bell) and an explanation to what she is is hinted at for the first time! We also get our first introduction to Carlisle and Esme!**

**Keep reading, and send in those reviews!**

**x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all, chapter 4 has arrived! Ok, so some of you still seem to be a tad confused about what the hell is up with 'Laiz, and I promise you, this is the last major cliffhanger before everything gets (almost totally) explained. The explanation will develop much, much more throughout the story, so please keep reading, even after you know who or what she is.**

**Back to Alaizabel's P.o.V **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4: the dream that won't let me wake up.

I was thrown onto the pebbly shore as if I weighed nothing. I never saw who brought me back; all I know was that they never let me head below the water and kept a hand clamped firmly over my mouth. I didn't struggle. I was convinced that this must have been some rescue person, a life guard or something. But what kind of life guard snapped at you to keep quiet, and man handled you as if you were a criminal not a victim? He seriously needed to work on his people skills.

As I breathed in the dry air, I felt a strange an unpleasant tightness in my stomach. An unfamiliar bitter taste welled in my mouth, and I turned onto my side to vomit all over the sand just in time. Oh my God, how much sea water had I swallowed?! It just wouldn't stop spurting out of my mouth; it was like I had a garden fountain in there!  
Finally, the flow of salty water stopped and I gasped, attempting to prop myself up onto my elbow.

"Stay down" a smooth voice growled at me from behind my head. It was so laced with violence that I obeyed silently.

"Edward! Please, you have to help us, Alaizabel fell into- _OH MY GOD_!!!" came a familiar voice, again piercing through a few octaves. How on earth did she do that? Bella was suddenly running towards us from the water, dripping wet and squelching with every step. I saw Jacob and the other 2 guys behind her, also soaked. But where was the boat? Had they jumped in after me? It didn't make any sense. And what the hell was Edward doing there?

"Alaizabel!" She cried. But Edward was suddenly by her side, holding her by the shoulders and stopping her in her tracks.

"Don't go near her. She tried to kill you!" He hissed. She looked at him in utter disbelief.

"That was her!?" Embry shouted, looking at Edward for an answer, rage apparent on his face.

"Yes, her." he replied morosely.

"What? Edward, what are you talking about? Answer me!" Bella struggled to get out of his grip, but he held fast.

"Look, maybe we shouldn't let her die of hypothermia yet. Let's get some answers in the dry." Jacob's emotionless voice said. This wasn't making any sense and the flood of blackness that had been ebbing at my brain was allowed to wash over me totally.

*******************************************

The next thing I knew, I was in a brilliant white room, attached to a saline drip and a pulse monitor beeping regularly next to me. It was quiet apart from that, and I knew I wasn't in hospital. Hospitals were full of people and noise. It was like I was in a very sterile grave yard; you could have heard a pin drop. I must be in quarantine. Oh no, this was not good! Did I have some terrible scurvy like disease? Had I infected anyone? And then another thought hit me: would they put me down?!

"You're safe Alaizabel. You almost drowned but you're fine now." An unfamiliar yet amicable voice said behind me. A beautiful blonde doctor walked into my field of vision, a sympathetic smile tugging at his gorgeous mouth; no mask or biohazard suit so I must be safe. The comfort of that thought allowed me to linger on his face and I was suddenly very glad I wasn't standing; my knees would have turned to jelly if I had been. I stayed silent.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" He asked, his great butterscotch eyes penetrating my own.

"I fell off a boat, I can't swim and I sunk. And then a lifeguard pulled me out..." I said. I wasn't exactly going to tell people about my little moment of delirium. It must have been the lack of oxygen to my brain, I knew that I couldn't learn to swim in a few seconds after not knowing how for 11 years.

"Alaizabel, I know what happened to you in the water. I need you to think for me. Why did you do it?"  
I was going insane. Did I garble something about it when I was brought here, in a moment of slipping into consciousness or something. Even so, why would he take me seriously? He must be taking about falling off the boat.

"I didn't jump, I got tangled in... fishing line." I murmured, embarrassed at such a lovely man thinking me a fool.

He shook his head, a small amused smile releasing a chuckle.  
"You really don't know what happened to you, do you?"

"I told you, I fell-"

"You,** Bitch**! What the HELL did you think you were doing?!" a man shouted from the door. It was Embry, he had Quil and Jacob holding him back. He was shaking with rage, and the doctor was over to him faster than I had time to register.

"Embry, out! She didn't mean to. Out now!"

"Like hell she didn't! She nearly got us all killed!" He screamed down the hall as the door swung shut.  
Tears were rolling down my face for a reason I didn't know. I'd done something bad, but I couldn't think what it was. My shoulders shuddered as I couldn't contain the emotion anymore, and I started to sob.

"You _do_ know, Alaizabel" came Edwards's voice from the now open door. He was staring at me like I was a rabid dog on a loose rope, as if I could attack any moment. It made me cry harder. I wasn't a killer; I didn't try and hurt anybody! Why were they treating me like I was a psychopath?

"Carlisle" Edward prompted the blonde doctor.

Carlisle flashed him a dark look before turning towards me sympathetically.  
"Alaizabel, when you were in the water you...screamed. Do you remember that?"  
I nodded  
"And then you breathed in water, remember?"  
I nodded again  
"Do you remember what you did after that?"

Oh. My. God.  
My face must have looked as dumbfounded as my thoughts because Carlisle looked at Edward as if they'd just discovered the meaning of life or something.  
"No, I couldn't have. You mean, I swam? I.., screamed?" I whispered.  
Edward nodded curtly.  
"Jacobs boat, the rocks. That was me too?"  
He nodded again, clear odium behind his heart breaking face.  
"But it wasn't your fault! You must not blame your self for it. No one was actually hurt. No harm, no foul." Carlisle said, squeezing my shoulder.

"No, no no no. This isn't real, this isn't right. I'm not right. This can't be real." I whispered. I didn't realize I had said my thoughts. Dear mother of God, what _was_ I?!

"That's what we want to know." Muttered Edward.

"I think I know." Came a soft voice from beside Edward. I blinked through the stream of tears, looking at the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen rivaling even Rosalie and Alice. She was just as pale as them, but had luxurious caramel hair and an empathetic face. Edward looked at her incredulously, before a look of realization dawned upon him, spreading across his face like ink in water.

She walked over smoothly to the Carlisle, an understanding look flashed between the two sets of gold eyes.

"What do you know about Sirens?" she asked.

**Ok, that should be enough to keep you interested for now. And no, I promise there is no clichéd 'turning into a fish' thing going on here. It's all highly original (I hope) and different. Keep looking out for the next chapter for some more major explanations.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, welcome to chapter 5! Wow, this has got to be one of the longest chapters I've written. Right so, this is from Esme's P.o.V, and I really hope I captured that motherly feeling that Meyer always tried to get across.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Esme: Getting Along / Discovery

The girl was on the brink for a good 3 hours, but it passed in a flash.

My darling Carlisle really felt for the girl. He knew she wasn't a bad person, and he was genuinely frustrated that neither Edward nor the Quileute boys seemed to understand that she wasn't a cold blooded killer.

Bella had been just as exasperated with Edward as Carlisle had, only she showed it more openly.

"Edward, she didn't _mean_ to do it! If she did, why would she have had reservations about going on the boat in the first place?" she had challenged.

Edward had sighed, "Did you never think that it was a clever ruse? The most fearful is the last one to be suspected of something like this." he retorted.

"But you could _read her mind_! Couldn't you see that she was scared for real!?" Bella back lashed.

"She was screaming the whole time! And I saw exactly what she was thinking when Jacob took those life jackets." He snarled.

"I'd be furious too if I was that scared!" she shot back.

I left them bickering in the lounge while I checked up on Alice. She was staring at her laptop, fingers flitting across the key board as she searched the web. Rosalie was looking through the multitude of books in Carlisle's library, the pages flying open and shut as she searched for something furiously.

"Alice, what are you looking for?" I questioned, perplexed.

"I had an idea about her, and Rose agrees. We're checking the details." She replied, her eyes never moving from the luminescent screen, and Rosalie made a small noise of agreement.

"Well?"

"You've heard of the Odyssey, right? Well, remember when Odysseus had to be tied to the mast?" she said.

I knew the story well. I'd read the Odyssey many times, as I had a real affinity for classical mythology. Of course! Why had I not thought of this before?

"Here it is!" Rosalie called. She opened a page of a well used book that I recognized as Homer's epic, to the part where Odysseus was given advice by witch Circe.

_"First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song..."_

_  
_I made my way down the hall and saw one of the Quileute boys being dragged off by Jacob and another boy I did not recognize; he was shouting profanities that made my jaw clench tighter. He really had no idea what was going on, so he shouldn't be so prejudice. The poor girl didn't even know what she was, let alone what she'd done. This kind of unwillingness to understand was one of the few things that set me on edge.

"That's what we all want to know" muttered Edward as I walked in. His voice was so laced with bitterness that I frowned slightly. It didn't suit him at all to be so cold towards any one.

"I think I have an idea" I said, looking pointedly at my son, going over all the ideas of Sirens in my head so Edward got a clear picture. He obviously got the message as his face lost all coldness instantly.

"Excuse me?" she spluttered after I'd explained the whole idea.

"It makes sense" Carlisle said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"So I'm like some, fishy, mermaid … thing!? This is insane" she muttered, her head clutched between her hands.

"No it's not! Sweetheart, you don't have to worry. We'll be here to help you. We understand." I encouraged. I was not going to let this girl go it alone, which would have been a cruel and unnecessary punishment to inflict on her. She needed to be taught control that was all, not hounded for being a 'freak'. Edward of all people should know that, I though directly at him. His face ducked in shame.

"Understand? What could you _possibly_ understand about this?! I've just found out that I'm _not human_, that I'm a complete and utter freak of nature! I almost killed four people, shouldn't I be arrested or something? WHY ARE YOU ALL JUST STARING AT ME?" She yelled back.

"Esme, can I have a moment alone with Alaizabel please?" Bella asked from behind me. I nodded. Maybe, hearing from someone her own age, who was used to non human creatures, it would soften the blow somehow. She had to know about us all now. I felt that maternal pull towards her, reluctance in having to leaving the shivering, sobbing girl. No ones face should be pulled into such a grimace of revulsion because of themselves.

Carlisle, Edward and myself left them alone, but we could hear what the conversation entailed from outside anyway. We sat in still silence as we listened to Bella explain about our family and the Quileutes. I heard Alaizabel's heart race like an Olympic runner, her breathe hiccupping as she gasped repeatedly. The tiniest mutterings as she accidentally thought aloud.

"Edward," Carlisle asked a silent question.

"No, it's fine. She is shocked but I think that she kind of knew subconsciously anyway. She'll be fine. But I think we should wait 'til Bella explains that we don't..." he trailed off. We didn't like to say it.

We didn't kill humans.

"Very well." Carlisle said to himself.

Edward suddenly got up and walked towards the door. "The wolves" he explained. Carlisle gestured that he should go, before taking my alabaster hand into his own marble one.  
At least the wolves would know now. They'd leave her alone.

"Esme, Carlisle? Could you come in now?" Bella said from behind the closed door. Carlisle held my hand as we walked over the threshold to meet the unbelieving and shocked eyes of one of the most extraordinary creatures on the planet.

**Sooooooooo? What dya think? This was seriously a major issue for me – what is 'Laiz's reaction? And how did you guys feel about it – it all making sense so far? If not, please feel free to ask in a review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, this chapter is mainly for a bit of comic relief and general happiness with Seth, plus an introduction of a whole new, totally original character. I needed a break from the somber depressivness of the other chapter, so this is like a little breath before the big plunge.**

**Seth was the most fun to write, he thinks exactly like me when I've had far too many Hobnobs (chocolate biscuits for those who aren't familiar with this brand)**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: Seth: Far too cool for Forks.

This was WAY cool.

Firstly, there was some new weird creature on the Olympic Peninsular. This time is was a Siren! I mean, that's just overly amazing! And secondly my cousin Tala was coming down to live with me, Mom and Leah. We'd always got along like a house on fire.  
Plus, it was an added bonus that she could phase too.

She's phoned Leah one night, in absolute hysterics when she phased for the first time. We calmed her down, and told her to take a road trip down to us. And then it all came out. Me and Leah, Quil, Embry, Sam, Jake, everything. It was explaining **_why_** that was tricky. It meant we had to tell her about the Cullens, and Bella, and all the crap that had happened. Surprisingly she'd taken it rather well.  
Leah on the other hand, was furious. Not only was she now not as special, as she wasn't the only chick to phase, but Tala was the first girl wolf to be an _alpha._ Leah had taken off howling the woods down when we figured out that the packs didn't interact with her in wolf form apart from Sam and Jake. And you had to admit it was kind of funny really, what with her name and everything. The name Tala literally meant "Wolf". Leah didn't come home; she went to stay with one of Jake's sisters in Hawaii. Mom was furious, but honestly I welcomed it. She was getting to much to handle, what with her stroppy moods that couldn't be placed to PMS and general crappy attitude.

Plus Leah was pissed, cos Tala was only half Quileute. Her Dad was Mom's half brother, and Tala's Mom was Irish, Neame. She was a real nice lady, and always let us help out with her massive St. Patrick's day festivities. But then she'd fallen down the stairs when Tala was 8, and she died in hospital 4 days later. It was a real hard blow for Tala and her dad, but she was real strong, a real warrior. Both me and Jake had growled when we heard what Leah had thought about her. "_contaminated blood, half breed,_ _MONGREL"_

_  
_Jake stormed into my kitchen, his hair and skin glistening with water.  
"Damn it! How the HELL did we not see that?" he shouted at himself as he gracelessly sat at the kitchen table, opposite me.  
"Wanna tell me what happened, or are you gonna drip all over my floor. You're only gonna make my Mom mad..." I prompted  
"Nah, Seth. I'll clean up. It's just... Yunno that new girl at Bella's school. The English one?"  
"Oh yeh! The one that Emmett said had spooked Edward. What about her?"  
"Well, we just figured out what's up with her..." he smirked without humor, and left it hanging  
"Are you waiting for a drum roll, cos you ain't gonna get it." I said. He shot me a dark look.  
"She's a goddamn ... _siren._" He said the word like it was painful to his tongue, his eyes rolling.  
One second. Two seconds, Three seconds passed.

"OH I GETTIT! That's what's up with the whole screaming thing ain't it!" I jumped up, grinning enthusiastically.  
"Calm down Seth! Jeez! But like, it's not really screaming," he said when eventually I sat down "it's nothing like that. It was singing. I mean, like full blow hypnotic singing. I don't know what's wrong with Edwards's hearing." he shuddered as he closed his eyes.  
"Ok. But, what's up with you being all wet?" I asked, totally veering off the subject as I noticed the puddle growing on the floor.  
"Well, we went fishing today remember?" he said like he was talking to a 3 year old.  
"Oh yeh..." Emily had popped back about an hour ago to get her over night stuff. I obviously didn't put 2 and 2 together.  
"Well, the Si- _Alaizabel_ went with us, and she ended up in the water, and she got her Siren on" said Jake, suddenly giggling.  
"What's so funny?" I asked, confused.  
"It's like this place is a fog horn!" he was actually clutching his sides with laughter  
"Ok.... Now you've lost me." Jheez, how much water did he swallow?  
"This town, the most unimpressive, boring, uninteresting little place on earth now has THREE mythological creatures residing here! I mean, it can't be the water or anything! It's just so...so...stupid!" he howled.

"Um... Hello?" came a voice by the door. My wavering smile broadened to a full blown Clearwater grin as I saw Tala walk through the door, her rucksack over shoulder and her dark brown hair tied back in a messy ponytail as usual.  
"Seth! Jake! You GUYS!" she exclaimed, dropping her stuff and running straight into my open arms. Her small frame barely came up to my chin. She was only 5'4". She turned towards Jake and hugged him before jumping back like she's just embraced an electric eel.  
"EW! Jake, did you shower with your clothes on? Stupid boy!" she laughed as she ruffled his hair, and he scowled playfully. He looked her up and down, and suddenly I felt overly protective of her. She had only just turned 16, and I was like her brother. My hands shook behind my back, but I kept on grinning.  
"So what's this I hear about a third addition to the hairy and scary brigade?" She asked after Jake had finally toweled off, and we'd all helped ourselves to the remainders of the fridge. She looked over from Jake to me, her eyes as inquisitive as ever. One emerald green, one jet black.  
"Oh well, yunno I was telling you about the girl who freaked out the bloodsucker?" piped Jake  
"Jake, must you really use that word? But anyway, yeh, what 'bout her?"  
"Turns out she's a siren." he said as if he was commenting on the perpetually murky weather.  
"Whoa! No way! You guys get all the interesting stuff. Ha, I so wanna meet her..." she trailed off. She did have this habit of saying _exactly_ what she was thinking without actually realizing it. It got her in trouble more than a few times.  
"She almost got me and the boys killed, Tala." Jake said reproachfully.  
"Oh, stop. From what you've told me, she had no idea about her, and look, you're still here. Quit whining, it doesn't suit you!" she slapped him playfully over the head. He scowled again, this time not so playfully.  
"You wanna meet her? I think I can arrange that" I said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ta-da! Chapter 7. ok, this is a fairly light chapter, I really wasn't in the mood to plunge us all back into major drama right now. So this is just a conclusion to the previous chapter and a little something to bring us all back to Alaizabel who is our heroine.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: Vampires and Sirens and Wolves, oh my.

"So, what you're saying is that the Cullens are vampires?" I asked incredulously.

Bella nodded.

"And that the Quileute boys are... werewolves?" She nodded again.

"And, I'm _a Siren_?" She gave me a look that confirmed my question.

I stayed silent for a good long minute. My eyes glazed over when I forgot to blink and all the objects in the room started to melt together, like the clocks in Salvador Dali's painting.  
This sort of thing just _did not_ happen. Sure, I'd had many a wide-eyed fantasy about meeting a mythological monster or being one, as all children do, even though my fantasies had carried on up until this day. But that was all they were, fantasies. They weren't real. They _couldn't_ be real. They _should not_ be real!

"Carlisle, Esme? Would you mind coming in please?" Bella said as if they were in the room. Less than a tenth of a second later, the door opened and the most heart-breaking couple on earth walked in, holding hands.

It was an oxymoron: **Compassionate Vampires.** Creatures that by their very description were ruthless and murdering were here in front of me, sympathizing and comforting me. It was logically impossible, like have a square circle. And yet logic seemed to have forgotten all about the two heavenly people now sitting on either side of the bed.

"Alaizabel?" Esme Cullen asked gently, her voice as smooth as her honey hair. I looked up into her golden syrup eyes, and lost myself in their entirety.

"I know this is a shock, but you have to understand. It's going to be fine. You've met my daughter, Alice?" she gestured towards the pixie dancing through the door. I looked over to her, and though I did recognize the short black hair and the tiny skinny frame, I could not honestly say I had met her.

"Hello, Alaizabel! Welcome to la-la land." She giggled as she embraced me in a freezing and yet warm hug.

"Hi." I replied, inwardly shocked at the lack of emotion in my voice.

"Now listen, it's _totally_ ok what's going on here. I don't see anybody drowning, or Edward's head erupting into flame, so it's all good." She grinned an irresistible grin. Bella had explained to me Edward & Alice's little 'talents', and although at first it shocked me, it felt like the norm now. Besides, knowing about Edward made things seem a lot more sensible in hind sight. I'd really been starting to worry that I'd openly shown my private thoughts through my face or words obliviously. It was weird, but knowing that he'd just been reading my mind made me feel tones better. I smiled at the "_just..."_

Carlisle had been removing my IV and the electrodes that monitored my heart. I noticed that as the butterfly bandage over where the needle had been was removed, that there was the tiniest of cuts, precise edged and deep. It didn't fit in with the rest of the haphazard grazes over my shins and arms.

"I took a tissue and blood sample while you were out cold. Curiosity." Carlisle said, a bashful smile playing on his beautiful mouth when he caught my perplexed frown.

"No, it's ok." I said, relieved that emotion had seeped its way back to my vocal chords.

Suddenly, all three Cullens stiffened, their faces frozen in the exact same heavenly stone expression.

"Carlisle?" Esme murmured. Alice was no where to be seen, but I swear I didn't even see her move.

"I'll go take a look." He reassured his wife, kissing her lightly on her forehead before flitting out of the room. I heard voices by the front door, and Bella walked out of the room to investigate, leaving me with the motherly vampire, holding my limp hand in her own gentle but frozen one.  
Esme was listening too, but she obviously could hear exactly what was being said, as her posture relaxed, but a small tug of disapproval toyed with the corner of her burgundy lips. Alice, Bella and Carlisle re-entered the room, followed by Jacob, and two other Quileutes I didn't recognize. One was a tall, wiry boy, who had an expression of uncontained excitement on his boyish face. The other was a girl, who although had many Indian features, didn't look quite as Indian as the two boys. She had dark brown, not black hair, and it curled insanely at the ends. Her skin was pale with olive undertones, not bronze. And her eyes were just; I hated to use the word, _quirky_.

One was emerald green, vivid and intense as the forest outside. The other was as dark as her Quileute friends, the iris and pupil merged together in a bottomless abyss.

Esme whispered something that was too low and fast for me to catch, and Carlisle shook his head. Whatever her concerns were, they were thoroughly dismissed.

"Alaizabel, you know Jacob. This is his friend, Seth Clearwater, and Seth's cousin, Tala Bourne." Alice introduced the strangers.

I smiled what I hoped was a warm smile. Seth's already beaming face was now positively aglow with wonderment, and he bounced over to me, and shook my hand with his burning own. Tala came over as well and patted my leg in welcome. She confused me slightly, as Bella had mentioned Seth's sister Leah, as the only female wolf. Maybe she was just a relative who knew, like Emily and Billy Black. But her hand sent waves of heat down to my shins, just as hot as Seth.

"Jake, can I talk to you outside?" Bella asked.

"Sure sure." He replied before leaving the room with her.

"So, Alaizabel. You're a siren. Anything else you'd like to divulge?" Tala asked.

_**Coming soon:**_** The next chapter will be from ****Alice****! And we'll also get another MAJOR plot twist, so keep watching this space! :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Righty, this is from Alice's P.o.V, so I really turned up the quirky factor in this one (I hope :S)**

**So, as usual read, enjoy, review if you want. So far everything has been majorly encouraging!**

**In the next few chapters there'll be a lot of major developments, so be patient with me – all will be revealed!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: Alice: here we go again.

I wasn't really lying when I had told Alaizabel about not seeing anybody drown.

I'd been looking for all the people I could see; my family, humans. But I couldn't promise anything about the Quileutes and when I looked for them, it just turned up blank. And I couldn't look for anything directly linked to her, as she caused even more mayhem than the wolves! Instead of the future just disappearing like with them, I got brief glimpses of it with her, but everything overlapped and seeped into each other, like colours that run on a page. And even then, I couldn't focus on anything, I'd only be able to retain the memory of a colour or a shape and that was it. Very, very annoying. I just stopped bothering with her. So technically, I had not seen anyone drown.

I didn't think it best to mention that it was because I _couldn't_.

I really didn't like the fact that the new Quileute girl arrived unannounced. Ok, yes I _had_ seen Sue Clearwater on the phone arranging the plans for her to come down, but I completely disregarded it, as it held no obvious importance. It was only now that she was here in Forks that I knew she was a wolf. Her future vanished the minute I saw her get out of the taxi. Ha, Leah would not be happy about another female wolf. But it still really annoyed me that there was yet **ANOTHER** person I couldn't see. I didn't even get a warning!

I'd watched Carlisle go to talk to Jacob, Seth and Tala as they walked up to the house, Tala still putting her jacket back on from where she'd phased back. That must have been quite awkward for her, I do hope the boys had given her some privacy.

I knew why Carlisle was nervous. Embry had practically tried to phase in the house, he was so angry at Alaizabel. Carlisle didn't want anyone getting hurt, and he didn't know if all the wolves felt like Embry did. But it was quite clear from their faces that they meant no harm. I think Jacob only looked uncomfortable because he'd also been angry, but he regretted it now. Seth ran up to Carlisle as shook his hand warmly. I laughed at my own little pun, and Seth came up to me and Bella taking us each in one arm and embracing us like old friends.

"Seth, who's that?" Bella asked curiously, and slightly worried.

"Oh, that's my cousin Tala. Just moved down here. Hey, no worries Bells, she's in on it. She can phase too. Only freaks here remember?" Seth grinned his infectious grin.

I smiled at Tala, and though she stared at both me and Carlisle in a wonderment we'd both gotten used to, she was polite enough to wave back.

Inside the house Alaizabel was still pale from shock, but she seemed a little bit more like herself than before. She was smiling, and her eyes had started to dart all over the place again, never resting for more than a few seconds. I totally understood about what Edward said about her scent. He'd only noticed it before us because, and I had to admit, he had a much faster reaction time to scent than the rest of us. I mean, all humans, no matter how bland the scent, made a little alarm go off in the back of my mind that yearned for blood. The wolves were just plain revolting - wet dog, eugh. But she had this strong, fresh cool scent that was like breathing in fresh air after being in a murky room. It didn't stop the yearning for blood, but it calmed the beast that raged within us all a fraction.

As Tala and Seth quizzed her, and Bella had strong words with Jake in the hall over Embry's reaction and Tala's unannounced visit, I dwelled over some visions. I saw posters around the school advertising a dance, Jessica slapping Lauren over a dispute about something trivial, more snow, Edward and Bella kissing _again_, a plane landing in Port Angeles airstrip and then all of a sudden the swirling started! But I was sure as the fact that I had no heart beat that this was nothing to do with Alaizabel. It only left one incomprehensible option open.

There was another Siren on their way to Forks.

Edward came running through the door a half minute later after I'd called him in my thoughts. Jasper was with him, he'd gone along to try and keep things calm with Embry.

"You're kidding, right?" he said lowly.

"You look and tell me!" I said, running over the vision again of the plane, the passengers getting off one by one and then the kaleidoscope started. I never felt unbalanced, and I didn't sway, but my senses rocked back and forth as if I was on a bucking bronco.

"Alright, stop it." Edward snapped. He was visibly unsettled.

"Jasper, we need to head them off at the airport. We need to keep things calm so its overtime for you I'm afraid" I said, as he wound his arms around my waist protectively.

"Anything that's necessary." He whispered.

"Edward, you need to come too. We need to know what's going on."

"Way ahead of you, titch." He mumbled feebly.

"Let's go now, the plane arrives in 20 minutes."

Edward quickly walked up to Bella and Jacob, Bella looking relieved and Jacob seriously frustrated. He kissed Bella on her forehead and muttered,

"Be back in about 40 minutes. Stay safe. Don't hit anyone" before glancing at Jacob and smirking slightly.

If he had intended that to be reassuring, I don't think it worked. As we flew out the door, I caught a glimpse of Bella's now grief stricken face.

A parting is such sweet sorrow. Only for her it was never sweet, it was down right sadistic.

_**Coming up**_**: The next chapter will be from (drum roll please) ….. JASPER! And we'll meet the new character who is going to turn the story upside down! Keep watching this space!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, and welcome to chapter 9, told from the P.o.V of JASPER HALE! Here, we meet the new character! Hope as always that you enjoy, and PLEASE let me know what your first impressions of the new character are! **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Jasper: An even playing field.

As we raced through the forest, the trees streaking past us with crystal clarity, I reflected on the events of the last two weeks.

A Siren had appeared in Forks, completely unaware of herself, and devastatingly powerful. I could not hear what Edward had heard in his mind when she sang internally, but we all heard when she did in the water. We had frozen in our tracks, each of us forsaking the task we were involved with. We finally knew what Edward had been describing, only I am sure that his memories of the song where far more potent than ours, as her voice had not been as raw when we heard it through the brine.

Then there was the new werewolf. Another phenomenon, as Leah Clearwater was thus far, the only recorded female wolf. Something that in itself was considered a mutation amongst the strange. But this girl was not just a wolf, she was an Alpha. A leader, a chieftain, a captain. Though her calm and youthful exterior showed no obvious signs of this, I felt the confidence and decisiveness of her emotions as if she'd spoken them aloud.

I admired her courage, as she was truly terrified as she was welcomed into our home, but showed not a flicker of anxiety across her perplexing eyes. I decided to reward her hardiness with relief, and soothed her terror. The girl had already placed herself in my good books.

And now, another Siren was heading for the Olympic Peninsular. I knew from experience that appearances like this did not happen purely out of the decision of chance. Someone or something drew their presence to this spot, but I could not fathom what.

Why was Forks such a haven for the unnatural?

We waited on the tarmac for the passengers to disembark the small jet. Emmett had caught up with us when Edward had rung him to let him know what was going on. He'd rushed back from his hunt early, his eyes only half sated. I deliberately kept his emotions away from his hunger, around this many people it was a little risky.

The plane was only half full, a few elderly people who glared at us with clear suspicion, a family of four, a Sikh man with a turban, and then our little mermaid.  
I held Alice's hand harder, although she was more than capable of protecting herself against this girl, I was on edge just thinking about why she would have to. Edward was concentrating, but clearly not in pain. This one didn't burn his psyche like the other girl had done, carelessly letting loose her voice, hypnotic and harmful, upon him.

The new Siren was graceful in her movement, flowing as smoothly as the water she called her home. Obsidian poker straight hair fell in an ink waterfall down to her waist, her skin flawless even from here. She was oriental, and her eyes held the trancing beauty of Asian courtesan. They also were as black as night, with a hint of raven's wing blue in the light, like a sheen on black satin. I could sense her feelings; there was anticipation, surprise and most of all duty. Whatever had brought her here was something that bound her fast, a law of some sort.

She moved swiftly over to all four of us, her face not betraying a single emotion, though her heart was thrumming powerfully in her rib cage. As she moved, her scent caught my attention. Again, that strange salty smell, sharp and burning, but with a trace of something softer; jasmine perhaps? Her scent was infinitely more potent than Alaizabel's. It almost caused me pain to smell, it was so raw.

"You must know about the fledgling." She said, looking at each in turn as if we were no more than your average human. As if our icy beauty didn't cut her to the core. How did she know what we were here for?

"What do you want here?" Said Edward, not darkly but warily. We knew what she was, but not the extent of her capabilities. I radiated calm, as this could not end badly. Not for any of us.

"I must see her. Now." she replied, a slight accent tainting an exceptionally forceful voice. Any mortal man would have done her bidding in a heart beat. But _**we**_ did not have heart beats.

"She's not hurt. She knows what she is. We're taking care of her" said Rosalie, who had come up from the rear. Her voice was final, and an aura of inhospitable distain seeped from her. _Take it easy Rose._

_  
__"_That is inconsequential. I will see her. It is very... important." She replied, just as final as Rose had been. She was holding something back, now suddenly terrified that she wouldn't get what she wanted.

"Why?" Emmett asked.

"She needs guidance in our ways. It is our law. Without it, she may destroy all around her, even you," She lowered her voice "_Kang-shi_."

I knew the meaning of the foreign word. It meant the spirits of the dead, animated by blood. She knew exactly what we were. The playing field was even.

"Excuse me. I forget myself. Introductions are a prerequisite I suppose," She held out an unwavering slender arm.

"I am Amaya." the Siren said.

**Coming soon: the next chapter will be from Alaizabel's P.o.V – kind of a small chap but it's mainly to slow the story down a little bit, and bring it back to her. What did you think of this one? **

**LOVAGE!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey all, welcome to chap 10! This is from Alaizabel's P.o.V, and she's basically just giving you an insight into what's going on in her mind.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 10: A stirring beast.

I was surprised at how hungry I was.

As I was dropped at home, my fleece precariously covering the scrapes I had received that day, I suddenly realized that I was famished. It gnawed at my stomach, that uncomfortable feeling of a vacuum in the pit of my gut building by the minute. Bella had tried to get me to eat before we left the Cullen house, but I already felt like an intruder on their fantastical existence already, I hardly wanted to enhance the guilt by eating some of their food. Although, I had wondered, how could it be inconveniencing them? It wasn't like they were going to eat it anyway.

Bella dropped me off in her faded red truck, the booming noise of the engine giving us both an excuse not to talk. I slipped out of the cab and closed the door, not meeting the pair of concerned brown eyes staring at me.

"Thanks Bella. I'll see you later" I mumbled to the floor.

"Yeh. You take care. Call anytime." She replied

"Bye"

"Bye"

I barely heard her farewell as I'd already started walking towards my front door the moment my parting had escaped my lips. My keys shook in my hand and I struggled in the fading light to see which the right ones were.

Dad ran down the stairs when he heard me come in.  
"Where the bloody hell have you been? You were supposed to be home over 3 hours ago!" He shouted. There was never the sort of angry-concerned-but-relieved tone to his roar, it was just plain anger. I some times wondered if he got angry because it screwed up his timetable, not because he was worried. I glanced at my water-proof watch. Holy crap, it was already 8.15, how long had I been out?!

"Sorry Dad, we lost track of time, we were just goofing around." I mumbled feebly

.  
"Where were you anyway?" He asked incredulously.

"The- the Indian reservation. We were hanging out with some of Bella's Quileute buddies." I replied. I wasn't lying, not really. I'd just been economical with the truth. He'd freak out if he'd known I'd been anywhere near the water, let alone in it. I suddenly felt a flush and annoyance at his over reaction, my cheeks burning like twin stoves.

"We are trying to settle down here, I can't have you being irresponsible like that. You could have at least called me or something! Alaizabel, don't you DARE walk away from me!" He shouted as I headed up the stairs, stinging tears flowing freely down my cheeks.

"Alaizabel! Stop! Don't you d-"

"**Enough**." I growled at him, staring at him with as much power as I could muster. I very rarely HATED anything or anyone, but right now I honestly could have hit him. Hard. Hard enough to kill. I could see it in my mind, my arm snapping out with lightning speed, the palm turned to slam straight into his Roman nose, the cartilage shattering beneath my hand. Blood everywhere. My ears were ringing, just like after hearing an explosion. Inside my head, a little voice was goading me to fulfill the option, and I shook on the spot as I fought it down again, its little cackling laugh disturbing me.

"Just... ring next time you're going to be late." Dad said blankly, his unjustified anger gone completely. He turned and walked into the kitchen.

I only realized I was snarling and my fists balled when I glanced in my bedroom mirror. The girl I saw startled me. She was tense, muscles taught and ready to pounce, teeth bared in an animalistic display of aggression, eyes wild with unrestrained violence.

The girl in the mirror was me.

**************************************************

"Alaizabel?" came a concerned voice beside me. Why the hell was I dreaming of Bella? I'd much rather dream about the Cullens.

"Um, Edward?" Bella said in the fog of my sleep. Ah, there we go, my favorite dream was about to begin, albeit with an odd start.

"Alaizabel" came a velvet voice in my ear. No WAY was that a dream. There was not a chance I could imagine something that perfect. My eyes snapped open and I felt a chill hand clamp itself over my lips with a gentle but restraining force.

Edward removed his hand slowly, staring at me with cautious eyes. I felt annoyed again; hadn't I proven that I was not a psychopathic killer who wanted to kill the Quileutes and Bella? Why was he still so wary?

"We need to go, now." He said plainly. He didn't order me to move, but I got the feeling that if I had protested, he's have dragged me along anyway.

"My clothes?" I gestured to a pile of them lying over my chair. I felt embarrassed that both of them had seen my room in its usual tip. But I didn't want to walk around in my thin pajamas.

"We have something for you to wear at the house, but we really have go!" Bella whispered. She fidgeted, continuously glancing at my open window. Ah, that explained a lot.

I was too stunned by the situation to ask why, and Edward jumped down with me after he had put Bella in the Volvo. We drove into the dark, the car edging 80mph.  
I had not gift of foresight, but it didn't take a genius to tell that something was going to happen, something to do with me. Occasionally Edward would glance at me in the rear-view mirror, his dark topaz eyes indecipherable. I prayed to whatever was up there that I wasn't facing my death sentence, and swell of panic building in my chest.

"We are _not_ going to hurt you, Alaizabel." Came his dark beautiful voice. I jumped, and my suddenly startled face must have frustrated him more.

"I promise, it's not like that. You just have to trust us. Trust me" He glared at me through the mirror, like he was trying to brand the message on my skull with his eyes. Their ferocity and beauty made me feel terrified and amazed.

He swiftly looked away, and for the rest of the journey, never once looked back at me again.

**So, what do you think? Any comments, reviews and questions are more than welcome! **

_**Coming soon**_**: the next chapter will be from our Cullen patriarch - CARLISLE! And here, Alaizabel and Amaya will meet for the first time (dun-dun-DAH!)**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Carlisle: And then there were two.

I heard Edwards Volvo pull up our drive way, two beating hearts inside a car that had three occupants.

Although I had not felt a pulse for many centuries, it was still a perplexing sensation to not hear the whirr of hot blood in my ears when I became excited. Or nervous. That was a more accurate description of my emotions at the moment.

Amaya had been glaring at my family for well over two hours. We'd refrained from letting her meet Alaizabel up until now due to Alaizabel herself. Edward had heard something in her, and was worried that meeting with Amaya straight away would set something off. And there was also Alaizabel's father, Henry to consider. He was good friends with the deputy sheriff of the town already, and no doubt would have requested an entire police squad to search for her had she been missing for any longer than she already had been. No, it was best to wait until the night.

I reflected on Amaya's protestations earlier that evening.

"You cannot deny me! You will not!" she had said with a voice oozing authority.

"We are not denying you anything," said Edward, looking surprisingly sympathetic

towards the antisocial girl. "This is for her sake as well as our own. You _will_ see her, but please have patience. The law will not be broken" he reassured.

Amaya, although silenced, did not refrain from staring at us with contempt. She was not used to her will being denied by anyone, especially men. From what Edward had told me, she was a very experienced Siren, one who had learnt to use her disabling voice to her advantage. She could use a tenor that sent out an ultrasonic pulse, a similar but far diluted version to the voice in the water. It gave the listeners the same feeling of blind obedience. And men were always susceptible to a beautiful woman.

"Why is she so anxious to see Alaizabel? What's all that about a law?" Asked Rosalie when we had moved into the kitchen. Edward looked slightly confused as he explained.

"There's a law within the world of Sirens, that states that when a '_fledgling_' sings for the first time, the nearest experienced Siren _must_ go to her, and teach her to control herself. It's as much of a compulsion for Amaya as for a human to snatch their hand away from a hot stove. By us preventing her from doing so, it is making her lose her grip on her control. I tried to find out what Sirens needed controlling for, but she guessed what I was doing, and shouted a list of profanities at me which I really would rather not repeat." He smiled mirthlessly.

"Fine. But how did she know what we were there for at the airstrip? And how did she _guess_ that you could read her mind!?" Rosalie asked again, a concerned tone colouring her harsh voice. There, Edwards's eye's glinted in fascination.

"She has a gift. Similar to mine, in a fashion. She can tell instantly from looking at a person what their desire is at that moment and what they are. It's like reading the blurb of a book in a sense. She could look at Bella sitting next to me at school and know instantly that she was a human with me, a vampire" He smiled at the thought "And that for example, she wanted to hold my hand. It's not very precise in the sense that she couldn't tell _why _Bella would want to, only that she was. That's how she knew what we were there for. And what we are."

"Eugh, that's just so... annoying." seethed Rose.

"I think it's a survival tactic" Edward replied to my thought over why she had the gift.

_What makes you say that? _I asked silently.

"I think it's what Sirens use to asses how to lure somebody to their death. If you can tell that a person on a boat hates the water and wants to get back to shore, you're not going to try and lure him in with the promise of something pretty at the bottom. You'd get him to think that there was land near by. You're not going to try to kill another Siren by drowning them. And yes, I believe all Sirens posses this ability," he added when I resounded a mute confusion of his general use of the term. "I think Alaizabel has it too. Although on a much lower scale. She is **very** perceptive of people around her. More so than even some vampires, "He glanced quickly at Rose.  
"It was what got me interested in the first place."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edward walked through the door, his arm around Bella, who in turn was leading Alaizabel by the hand, like a child. She looked absolutely petrified. She was huddled in a blanket over her brown pajamas, and although the car had been warm, she was shivering.

"Welcome back Alaizabel. How have you been?" I asked.

"Um - yeh. Fine thanks." She mumbled. Edward shot me a look that told me she was lying.

"Alaizabel, there's somebody here to see you." Said Esme, coming to stand by my side. Her voice was soothing a soft, something that I always saw as Esme's personal gift. She could make even the coldest of hearts warm towards her.

Alaizabel's face bleached white, completely white. Edward clicked his tongue at her thoughts.  
"I need you to trust me Alaizabel, I promised didn't I?" He said scornfully. If this actually soothed her at all, she did not show it. Her face remained alabaster white and her curious eyes wide with alarm. Edward rubbed his forehead, a slight grimace set upon his mouth. No doubt her little mind was screaming like a full force gale.

"Amaya?" said Esme.

In walked the other Siren, her hair swaying slightly with each step, her deep black eyes unmoving upon Alaizabel's fear stricken form. I didn't need Edward's gift to be able to tell what Alaizabel was thinking.

There was pure terror, no doubt, but there was something underneath that. There was a subliminal recognition, and kinship deep in the teal eyes. Edward's face had dropped the grimace and had shifted into an expression of awe, like a blind man seeing the sunrise for the first time. He had that subtle but adoring glint in his amber eyes and I almost envied him over what he could hear.

"Who are you?" Alaizabel whispered. Her usually flitting eyes had come to a complete stand still. It seemed out of place on her.

"What do you think I am?" said Amaya, her voice steady and unyielding. A look of sudden realization flashed momentarily across Alaizabel's grayish green-blue eyes, the colour returning to her cheeks. Her hand jumped slightly as if she was going to hold it to her mouth. But she didn't. Apart from that she became still, almost as still as us.

"I know what you are." purred Amaya "I have come to help you. To guide you, you'll not be alone ever again." She smiled a devastating smile. Tears welled in Alaizabel's eyes, her throat convulsed as she held down a sob. I could practically feel Esme yearning to reach over to her, but she stood as unmoving as stone. The scene was surreal, I almost felt as if I was intruding upon an intimate reunion of some sorts. Had I had blood in my veins, I am sure I would have flushed red from shame. But none of my family moved.

Edward broke the museum quite by rushing over to Alaizabel just in time to catch her limp form, as she lost consciousness. Amaya retreated back into the living room, a satisfied cast about her penetrating eyes.

She'd achieved what she wanted, though what it was, no-one apart from she and Edward knew.

**Coming soon: the next chapter will be from Amaya, and will provide and alternative P.o.V for this chapter. Enjoy!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey all, welcome to Chapter 11! :O can't believe we've made it this far, as it is the 20****th**** chapter in the trilogy so far! Eek!**

**Ok, so this is from AMAYA – enjoy!**

Chapter 20: Amaya: The fledgling, the fangless, and the 'fang-qui'.

How quaint.  
A Siren, one of the most majestic beings on this orbed planet, and she resides with a clan of _Kang-shi_, wolf-men and a human. This would have made a really good reality television program had it not been so utterly absurd.

But then, fact was always stranger than fiction.

But the _kang-shi_ did fascinate me, to an extent. The younger male who shared a bond with the dark haired human girl had taken me off guard. I was quite infuriated when he looked at my thoughts. Being separated from the Fledgling at that time had already stripped my confidence down to its bare minimum, my personal _fang-qui_ eating away at my innards. When the boy had started to probe into my reason for being in this tiny overly-green town, my _fang-qui_ had snarled at him, tugging on its leash and streaming a torrent of profanities. I made no major effort to reign it back in again, the boy would learn his lesson not to probe me without permission again.

But, how curious was it, that he could probe my psyche at all? And that corn haired male, who could silence my _fang-qui_ without him saying a word. I had not felt freedom like that in a long time, and although I was wary not to seem to be stalking him, I followed him closely. He kept me at ease, and silenced the foreign devil inside me that raged for the water.

But that was a burden I would have to bear for all eternity. And soon enough, the Fledgling Alaizabel would too. All Sirens had their own personal _fang-qui_.

It was what made us so fatal.

The Fledgling showed promise. She barely looked the part, though I had doubted she would, as I had been informed that she had only had one "incident" to date. This for me was fortunate, as it meant I would be able to watch her transform into a beacon of our kind. Like I had stated, she hardly looked the part of a Siren, but it did not fool me. That cry I had heard whilst bathing in Lake Michigan was more powerful than any world weary Siren's call I'd ever heard in my life. The blood curdling shriek of pure untainted rage. Not many Siren's broke into our world with _that_ cry on their lips. Most, as it turned out, had sorrow and despair, usually trying to drown them selves after some incident in their human lives. Others had horror, if they had been cast overboard by a storm or dragged below by a current. But never in my life had I heard that wrath for a premiering song.

I'd not have believed it had been her, had I not seen exactly what she was as soon as I spotted her. It was the one thing us sea-sisters could thank our _fang-qui's_ for. It gave us the ability to asses not only name, sex and age but also the species of a person. And the closer we were to water, the easier it was to guess their desires. I didn't know how it had happened, but as soon as you locked eyes with them, you just _knew._ Though, I think that the _kang-shi _and wolf-men were easier to pick up than humans, as they have such anomalous brains, the signal was like a 7 as opposed to a very human 4 on the Richter scale.

Alaizabel's _fang-qui_ was starting to surface. Dangerous, violent and deadly as they always were. _It_ was what recognized me as me locked eyes in the Cullen's magnificent home, not her. My inky blue-black penetrating her appropriate brine grey. She'd learn to miss her eyes soon enough, as with all Sirens they would deepen to a shade of impenetrable black in time. My own had been a riotous explosion of earthy brown and mossy green. Like the very forest that now surrounded us.

And yes, I missed looking human, too.

I had been singing to her with my _fang-qui,_ working a complicated kinship of melodious harmony to call out to her. She had sung back, the vibrations that only we could hear resonated from her like tsunami waves. It did irk me somewhat that Edward was listening in to our very private conversation of tune, but he did not interrupt. In fact, from the look of his face, I think he'd have rather thrown himself onto a fire that let our song stop. Eugh, I was SO used to that look, although, coming from a creature as beautiful as him, I did not mind quite so much.

Alaizabel's desire was as obvious as if she had written it across her brow.

"_I DO NOT WANT TO BE ALONE"_

_  
__"_You'll not ever be alone again" I promised her.

Target acquired. Within a half second, the poor girl was overwhelmed by the situation and let sweet tempting nothingness engulf her temporarily.  
I no longer needed to be in her presence quite so badly. The yearning was satiated - for now. I smiled to myself. How extraordinary, this girl who ironically was so fearful of the water, should chance decide for her to be _my_ charge.

My charge, who had the potential to rule the world's water.

**Coming soon: the next chapter will be from EDWARD! Yay! Keep an eye out for it!**

**xxxx**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Edward: Into the looking glass.

It had been two weeks since Amaya's arrival in Forks.

Time usually flew by for me, but within the last fortnight, even I expressed surprise at just how fast it was escaping me. Watching the Sirens at work was mind consuming, as I now had to ask a personal and embarrassing favour of Amaya, to teach me how to block their screaming.

At first she had scoffed at me, as if she didn't believe that I heard screaming instead of a mesmerizing tune. It was only after days of insistence and God help me, _begging, _that she finally believed me.

"You say it's screaming. No beauty in it at all?" She asked yet again.

"Yes. There's nothing sweet about _that_ sound." I said curtly.

"I can only think of one thing..." She said. Her thoughts raced over something I didn't recognize, Chinese symbols and demonic faces. What on earth?

"A _Fang-qui_" she said, as she analyzed my confused expression. Again the demonic faces leered out at me, a severe sense of trepidation, respect and a healthy dose of fear washed over each thought.

"It's our personal demon," she explained. "Like a second soul residing within our own. It's the pure spirit of a Siren. It's _her_ that calls to you from the water, not me. I am merely the host." Her voice sounded wistful.

"How does it contaminate you?" I asked warily. I didn't want something this infectious around Bella. I couldn't let her fall pray to that kind of danger.

She laughed. "Oh no. It is not catching. It's purely genetic. It's an extremely rare combination of genes, and the parents are only carriers. They feel none of its effects. We don't – _procreate - _like your kind." She wrinkled her nose at the last sentence. I sighed in relief.

"But it isn't from birth. There's an event that has to set it off once it has matured" Her heart rate increased. Something was troubled in her thoughts, her mind gibbering pathetically in Chinese, like a child who is scared of the dark.

"So, tell me. How does it work? How did it happen to you?" I asked gently, forgetting all about that favour.  
She stayed quiet for a good minute; I could see her actively shutting her mind to me, focusing on neutral images, our house, the sea, the plane.

"It was years ago," she said very quietly, the force from her voice gone completely. "I don't know exactly how long ago. But Mao was not in power yet, I remember the communists being butchered in the streets for their sympathies towards him." She shuddered. "I came from a middle class family. My father was a land-lord. He was a good man, not like the others. He didn't let people starve. But I was a disappointment to him. I ran wild; I never behaved or acted like a lady." She grinned suddenly. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow. I had never seen her act anything _but_ lady like, elegant, svelte and sublime, even when infuriated. "I was flirtatious, and wasn't as chaste as a girl my age should have been. The original good time girl." Her smile wavered, pulling into a grimace.  
"And my brother was fiercely loyal to Chiang Kai-Shek, the biggest opponent to Mao. And my, did he have a temper..." She trailed off, her usually bottomless eyes flat black all of a sudden. Her thoughts, which she had being trying so hard not to let slip, now churned slightly. I could only guess it was her inner demon stirring at the emotion filled memories. I had to fight the urge to see what it was, and concentrate on her face, still and calm, the eyes revealing nothing of what lay beneath them.

"So," she started again, after recomposing herself. "One day, my brother caught me with my lover by the stream in the woods. And, like the man he was, my lover ran off. But he left his Red Army cap with me and my brother. I think you can guess what my brother's reaction was." She turned, her huge obsidian eyes staring directly into mine. She let go of her restraints on her memories and I saw clearly what happened next. She didn't have the words to describe it, but I did.

Fury. I saw untainted fury in the young man's eyes as his fist pummeled her. I saw tears clouding her eyes, as I was looking though them. Her long jet hair streamed past her as she tried to run away, the cold air of the winter stinging against her naked flesh. The harsh pull of pain as he grabbed her by the scalp and dragged her to the stream. I saw her reflection through her pleading eyes as he continually plunged her face into the freezing water, her skin tearing as the rocks at the bottom collided again and again with her cheek. And then after what seemed like hours of this torture, he didn't bring her back above the water. He held her pinned to the bottom, her screams falling silent within seconds. Then that uncontrollable urge to breathe. The water ripping through her lungs, the searing heat and agony as she expired.

And then the scream.

Amaya looked away from me, her thoughts now speaking directly at me.

_That is what happens every time we shift. We die_.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, as silent as the grave, and I nodded before walking away to leave her in peace. Now I understood.

_Edward, we've got visitors, _I heard Alice call to me. She didn't sound worried. But I saw what she prophesied. A couple of Nomads swiftly pulling through the shadows of the forest, their images concealed in the darkness. Two females, that was obvious. One with flowing dark blonde hair, the other with an angular shoulder length cut, darker in colouring. I recognized neither, but the image was distorted by darkness. The image vanished as quickly as it had come. I reached Alice in the living room where she was sitting silently with Jasper, leaning into his shoulder like an old couple.  
"How long?" I asked calmly?  
"I think tomorrow evening. They're moving fast. I can't really tell that much." She said, while continuing to stare out the window.  
"Are they vegetarians?" I asked, not smiling at the joking word.

"I'm not sure; I haven't seen them eat at all. But they're in a hurry."

"We'll head them off when they get nearer to here." I said.

_I'm coming with you._ Thought Jasper in front of me and Carlisle in the next room at the same time.

"Good."

_I do hope these aren't as much bother as James._ Alice thought. I snarled at the carless tone of her words, but she smiled brightly at me.

Clearly she did not think lighting could strike twice.

**Coming soon: Next chap from Alaizabel, and we meet the new Nomads!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey all welcome to the next chapter! Ok, this is from Alaizabel's P.o.V, so I hope you enjoy it! Major plot twist here!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 14: Freak seeking missiles.

My life, I could now officially say, was unbelievable.

Literally, I'd have been institutionalized had I told anyone about it, it was that unrealistic.

I had been wary of Amaya for the first few days, as I could not grapple the idea that she'd heard me all the way from Chicago and that she (I hated to think it) _died_ in approximately 1928. She didn't look a day over 19.  
But after a few days, I just began to trust her. I mean quite seriously, I went to bed one night feeling uneasy and then the next morning I would have trusted her with more than my life. I didn't know why, I just did. She seemed a little smug that day; I guess the change must have been obvious to her.  
It was the day the training began. It was terrifying at first, as she drove me to the sea again, and a horrible nausea and panic gripped my chest. I point blank refused to get out of the car, but then she said something to me that made me go with her, my feet following a path my mind had not registered.

"I just want you to hold your head under the water. You come up for air when you need. But hold your breathe for at least... oh let's say 10 seconds." she explained calmly to me. Shivering as I knelt in the cool water from more than the chill temperature, I squeezed my eyes shut and dipped my face below the surface.  
"Lower" I heard her call through the water, pushing my back down gently so my entire head was covered, my knees resting on the pebbles below the water. I was entirely submerged now.

I started counting in my head, careful not to go too fast.  
1 Mississippi,  
2 Mississippi,  
3 Mississippi,  
4 Mississippi (I started to feel uncomfortable),  
5 Mississippi,  
6 Mississippi (I felt heavy, like my skin was made of lead),  
7 Mississippi (I couldn't hold my breath much longer, I was starting to panic),  
8 Mississippi,  
9 Mississippi (I let a few small bubbles stray out my mouth)  
10.

I released the bubbles in a great flurry, each of them gently caressing my face as they flew past me to breach the surface. I smiled in relief and went to stand up, to breathe in air.  
But something held my body down fast.  
A cold hard grip held my scalp and forced it to stay below the surface, the other hand pushing my back further down into the water. I struggled against the steely grip. Was Amaya crazy? 10 seconds where up!  
A tried to turn over and rip my self away from her but I couldn't move an inch. I tried to reach behind me and prize her fingers away but they were welded to my skin. And I needed to breathe so badly.  
I grasped what she was doing. She was trying to make me sing. No, NO NO NO NO! I didn't want to drown! My lungs were imploring with me to breathe, I could feel that horrible pressure mounting behind my eyes and that awful ringing in my ears.  
The ringing had a voice, and all it was saying was _breathe._

_  
__Breathe, Alaizabel, breathe. Breathe!_

_  
_I obeyed the voice. The water tore through my lungs like a thousand jagged glass edges; I could almost feel the blood curdling with the salty water in my throat. The pain was horrific, and the pressure that had been building up behind my eyes now swelled in my chest.

I screamed.

Just at that moment I was pulled up out of the water, the non-murky light blinding to my eyes and the song cutting itself short in surprise. I could feel a sharp jolt as my heart re-started itself, the water forced out of my lungs like air from a bellow.

Suddenly, anger engulfed every part of me, my teeth bared as the water flowed between them, my eyes seeing everything in fluorescent colours. Amaya was standing on the shore, a good 20 yards away. How did she get over there so fast? I didn't care anyway; her throat would be in my claw like hands before she could blink. She would pay for that little trick.

I crouched, ready to fling myself over the surf and smack into her like a wrecking ball when she said "**Alaizabel. Breathe**" in a voice that oozed as much menace as my stance. I obeyed the undeniable order, suddenly it was the only thing I wanted to do.  
Air filled my dilapidated lungs like a hot air balloon. The ripping curdled snarl ceased and the fluorescent colours retreated into the recognizable tones of the dreary day.

I stared accusingly at Amaya as I hobbled to the shore.  
"I was curious," She said. "You'll get used to the pain. It isn't so bad after a while. After it gets to know you, it doesn't let you suffer so much." She explained, although she left me more confused than before. _It_? What was she talking about?

"Why did you hold me down?" I asked incredulously.

"I didn't do anything, it did." She smiled at me sweetly.

"What the hell is _it?!" _I yelled.

"The Siren." she said conspiratorially, before explaining the concept of a _fang-qui_, and its desire to live, to breathe, to sing.

That was the first lesson I learnt about shifting.

Each time you sang, _it _murdered you first.

Two weeks later and our "lessons" continued. Although my skills in taming the beast inside me had developed greatly, I was startled by the radical physical effects it took on me. At school, I could see a difference in everything. People treated me not as an outsider, but as an addition. I personally believed that something that was released along with my _fang-qui­ _caused a physical change in me that appealed to the eye. Another deadly tactic. My face lost the last traces of puppy fat, the cheekbones protruding like those of a high fashion model. Everything that I had hated about my face was shifting, erased somehow. I'd always had an under bite, but now my jaw was more forward, strong and pointed. Even my teeth were rearranging themselves to be straighter than they were. Something that had not been achieved on my bottom jaw even with 2 sets of train tracks and a retainer!

My hands and feet also became longer and leaner.

It wasn't the only thing to get taller. I noticed that I had grown at least an inch in the last fortnight, and it explained the amount of food I had been consuming. But off all the changes that frightened me the most, it was my eyes.

My great light grey eyes, a perfect combination of aluminium grey and teal blue had started to go dark. It wasn't even that the colour was changing. The colour was disappearing altogether as my pupils grew like an ink spot. My eyes were more bottomless black than they were glassy grey. It terrified me to the core.

I was studying my eyes in the mirror in the kitchen at the Cullen's house on a weekend when they insisted upon supervising me, when I heard the news of the new arrivals. Vampires. More Vampires. I shuddered at the thought. It was unsettling to know that they'd been out there this whole time, and I'd never been the wiser. I hated being ignorant. But the others seemed wary of these beings; they called them "Nomads". No idea, don't ask me. Bella was given strict instructions by Edward to stay at home, which she of course disobeyed. I was warned to stay inside the house with Amaya. They said our scent was funny and might freak the newbies out. I felt a little insulted by that.

I wasn't anywhere near as scary as a vampire could possibly be!

Edward and the other Cullens had gone off to meet the newcomers in the woods before they could go too near Forks. Something about 'avoidable collateral'. But less than 15 minutes later, Edward flew through the door and grabbed both me and Amaya and stared at us long and hard. I was completely freaked out by this, but Amaya was looking at him with a confused fear.

"No, I haven't done anything like that, _ever_" she said.

"Neither has Alaizabel, you know that!" she whispered harshly when he didn't let us go.

"Then how do you explain this?" Edward snarled under his breathe, more to himself than to us, as he motioned with a flick of his beautiful head for somebody to come in.

In walked two vampires. It was obvious what they were, after seeing the tell tale pale skin and heart-harming beauty once, you didn't forget. The first was tall, approximately 5'8" with long dark gold hair that fell just shy of her knees in gleaming waves.  
She too had luxurious caramel eyes, although, they held a slightest hint of copper deep within them.  
The other vampire was smaller, maybe my height, with dead straight glossy hazel hair cut just above her shoulders, with a strong straight nose and high cut cheekbones.

But her eyes, unlike the warm gold of the others, were bright violent crimson.

Both females bared their teeth very slightly when they saw us, and Amaya instinctively pushed me behind her.

"Another one!" Said the first female in a thick Mediterranean accent, her pale skin with olive undertones tightening across her face.

"The smell, it... hurts!" snarled the second smaller female, squeezing the bridge of her nose. I was shocked to find that she too was English.

"You know what her kind did to him, Edward! You need to get rid of her!" hissed the honey-haired beauty. She didn't look angry, but petrifying concerned.

Edward shook his head firmly.  
"She is not like that." he whispered.  
Suddenly, the crimson eyed girls head shot up, and something primal moved in her features. Edward, a fraction of a second later crouched into a defensive pose, but relaxed when the other female stared at him, a message flashing in her eyes.

She crossed over to the settee, the other girl following her exactly, and both sat down adopting the same pose and tilt of the head. The blonde's eyes were relaxed, but the crimson eyes of the other girl darted everywhere, panicked in her calm tranquil face of stone.

"Amaya, Alaizabel, meet Amaryllis and Katherine "Edward said.

**Coming soon: the next chapter is from ****Amaryllis****! We'll see a bit of her back story and you'll get a big clue about her for all you mythology buffs out there!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ok folks, here is Chapter 15! This is from Amaryllis' P.o.V. (try and read it with a Mediterranean accent, you'll find out why later)**

**Enjoy!!!!!**

Chapter 15: Amaryllis: Truths and treason

Traitors.  
Every last one of them -I thought - as I saw Edward Cullen and his family protected not only the human girl, but the two murderous beings in front of me. The Asian one was staring at me with absolute horror, while the smaller redhead- while frightened - looked more curious than petrified. And the scent! It filled my nostrils with its stinging, salty stench, causing all sorts of alarm bells to go off in my head, my arms to tense and my throat to vibrate in a growl that shook the floor boards.  
I had to snap out of my moment of fury to control Katherine. She'd smelt Bella and did not share my life of abstinence. Had I not stopped her she would have been upon Bella in a flash, but from the look in Edward's eyes, I knew both of us would be burning on pyres within minutes had she attacked. So I went to sit down, looking the ideal of calm, Katherine now mimicking my every movement to the milimetre. But her eyes were staring at me furiously. She hated it when I made her my puppet.

_Don't worry, Edward. She won't harm a hair on Bella's head. You have my word._ I had projected onto him as he tensed to lunge at Katherine. He relaxed, but his gaze warned me that if I let slip, he wouldn't hesitate to attack.

But even though Edward Cullen was one of my allies, along with his father Carlisle, _how_ _could he do this to me_?! How could he harbor such monsters!? He could see exactly in my memories what had happened to my mate Jonaten when I told him why we were here in Washington. He must have known; how could he betray our kind like this!?

"She's not like that." He said, looking at me with something I could not place within his deep golden eyes. Was it protection? I couldn't comprehend why if it was.  
Memories came flooding back as the briny smell hit me again as the redheaded girl moved around the other one to get a better look at me and Katherine.

2 years ago in London, we'd been prowling the streets in search of a meal. We decided to hit the west end, near Victoria station. Plenty of tourists and foreigners there, people who got lost easily. People that wouldn't be missed easily. We'd use our gifts to make the prey easier to succumb to us. Old habits die hard. Both Jonaten and I had been hunting since the ages when people were not hesitant to blame a supernatural force, so we had adapted our style so that it could easily look like an accident or suicide. Suicide was better, as in those times no body would bury a self murder in hallowed ground, meaning no investigation or post mortem, so no-one bothered to find out why there was such a lack of blood. Jonaten would send our chosen victim into a deep sleep, so deep it would be impossible for them to ever awaken from it. A coma. And then I would make them throw themselves off a bridge, or slit their wrists or throats.

That night on Warwick Road, we'd chosen a couple walking 30 metres in front of us. One was approximately 16, with shoulder length light brown hair and glasses; the other was a middle aged woman with curly red hair. The older woman had the same salty zest on her, which was what drew Jonaten to the fairly ordinary duo in the first place. He claimed the strange smelling woman, I was allowed the adolescent. We approached them, and offered to buy them drinks, pretending to have become newly engaged and on our way to see the same show they were, some musical about witches. They accepted of course, who could refuse such beautiful creatures as us?

After the drinks, we told them we new a back way that would get us to the theatre quicker, as we had deliberately run late. When we were in the alley, away from the thrum of black cabs and newspaper sellers, we struck.

Jonaten sent both into a catatonic stupor, their minds fast asleep but their eyes wide awake. He liked the idea of him being death, and them seeing it coming. He was a little sadistic, my Jonaten. Then I shattered a small grimy window with my fingers and threw two sharp pieces by their feet. I made the woman slit her throat, the girl slashing her wrists to ribbons. The smell of blood over took me then and I flew down onto her, draining each vein of that sanguine red life line.

But I stopped short when I heard a heavy metallic screeching noise.

I turned in an instant, only to see my beloved Jonaten, _tearing himself into pieces_.

An old tramps fire that had long been abandoned was less than 5 yards away, and before I could gasp, he had thrown himself onto it, writhing and failing as he continued to dismember himself, the limbs burning crimson as they smoldered. I looked at the body of the woman he had been drinking from, she was bleeding onto the cobblestones, the overly salty blood staining them black in the darkness. Something in that monstrous blood had made him kill himself. My beautiful Viking warrior had gone mad, and had done to himself what we had inflicted on so many others. It was horrible irony, and I smelt the woman's dying scent one last time. I would never forget what she had done to him, and I snapped her neck to kill her quick. I couldn't cry, but my body shook anyway, the silent never-moistened tears of fury curdling in my cadaverous body.

A small whimper made me jump back to reality. The girl I'd been drinking from was awakening from the stupor slightly, although her blood was running out of her wrists like a waterfall. She wouldn't last long. And then, she began to writhe and fit, mingled cries of pain with uncontrolled barks of hysteria. My venom was coursing through her like wild fire, she was beginning to change. Panicked for the first time in over two millennia, I gathered the girl into my arms and ran, leaving my Jonaten to turn to ashes, and the woman to be found by a wandering vagrant.

I hid with the girl in the sewers for 3 days. I was too shaken to kill her & I had this morbid fascination to watch her as she squirmed in agony, her eyes rolling back into her head over and over. I'd never seen anybody changed before, and the blood had stopped flowing out of her fairly quickly. It was like my hunger had died along with Jonaten, and I just didn't feel the need to exist anymore. But something deep inside me would not let me abandon her, now that the monster wanting blood had been banished. I felt _maternal_ towards her. I had lost my only possession and she was mine now. I wasn't going to give her up easily.

After 3 days of waiting, sitting in the exact same position yet not feeling in the slightest cramped, her heart stopped.

A child of darkness was born quite appropriately into darkness.

There was no light down here, so that not even we could see anything. I lead her to the outside world, puppeting her to follow me incase she tried to run away. And then we ran. Far away from London, away from the news of the other woman, away from my memories of Jonaten. I vowed never to touch human blood again; I was too terrified I may follow his fate. The girl, Katherine, became my charge and daughter, though as hard as I reasoned with her, she would not give up the blood. She was suited for the life of an executioner, she had a side to her that was built for killing and I was in no position to deny her that.

But there was now a hunger for blood deep inside my long dead heart, different from the previous one. This hunger no longer demanded it for me to live, but demanded it out of vendetta. This _thing_ - I didn't even think of her as human anymore - had murdered a vampire. It was my pleasure as well as my duty to make sure no other vampire followed Jonaten's fate.

And now, two of the same creatures, their smell just as pungent, were in my presence being protected by the very vampires they could kill. Katherine and I had been wandering through Canada, when their scent caught my attention on the wind, from across the border. The only vampires I was aware that were near by were Carlisle and his son Edward. They'd been kind to me in the past, and I felt I owed it to them to warn them of such murderers.

But oh, how mistaken I'd been.

"Amaya, Alaizabel, meet Amaryllis and Katherine" Said Edward soothingly.  
He spoke like they were people! Like they had morals! I should have made them turn upon each other then and there, but I feared the smell of even such revolting blood would set the Cullens upon them, condemning them to death.  
I nodded sweetly behind a tranquil face, but inside I feared for Edward. Did he know what he was getting himself into, did Carlisle? Even the Cullens who I had not met, (for the last time I had seen Edward and Carlisle was in the early 40's,) were ganged up against me.  
Katherine was still staring at me odiously. She wanted the human's blood badly, that was obvious. But I wasn't going to let my side slip up. We would keep some decorum.

"Edward, you remember what I told you?" I said very calmly, ignoring the salty smelling girls.

"I will repeat my statement, Amaryllis. They are not like that. Neither one of them has killed a vampire or human." He said as calming as me. The Asian girl flashed him a look out of the corner of a slanted black eye, but said nothing. The smaller redheaded girl she was shielding was still staring at me, her mouth agape in surprise. It annoyed me, so I made her close it. As her jaw snapped shut, her hand flew to her mouth in surprise, and the missing fear behind her strangely dark grey eyes began to make itself shown. She seemed to visibly shrink away from my unwavering gaze. I felt more venomous towards her as I studied her features. She was similar to the woman that murdered Jonaten in a way, the same expression of horror, the same eyes, even down to the freckles. It disgusted me thoroughly.

"Amaryllis, perhaps we should introduce the newest members of our family before we explain." Said Carlisle. I nodded.

We moved into Carlisle study, and I heard Edward tell his mate Bella to stay with the two intruders. How could he leave her alone with them! If they could kill a vampire, imagine what they could do to a human, especially one as frail as her.

Before any of the Cullens could talk, I spoke.

"Carlisle, Edward, and you Cullens I have yet to have the pleasure of friendship with," I gestured to the 3 women and 2 boys "I implore you, please, please get rid of them! Edward, you KNOW what they did to Jonaten. Remove them before it's too late!"

"I think, we'd better explain to you what we know before we make a judgment" Said Carlisle, and the others nodded. The caramel haired female opened a book and held it in front of me at an open page. When I saw the book name I almost laughed, was this a sort of joke of Edwards? But then she tapped a particular word and screams rang wild in my head.  
_"Sirens"..._

**Ok, so for those of you that didn't get it, Amaryllis has a power – she can physically manipulate people. And pay attention to the way Katherine 'died' – it's relevant to a feature about her later.**

**Next chapter is from Alaizabel again; here we have possibly the BIGGEST plot twist in the entire fanfic.**

**Enjoy!!!!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok folks, this is the BIG chapter of this book: the **_**very very very very**_** (I think you get it) important chapter!**

**From Alaizabel's P.o.V, we learn this shocking revelation.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 16: Stranger than fiction

I was quaking where I stood as the Cullens and the two new vampires, Amaryllis and Katherine, made their way up the stairs. I didn't realize I was even crying until I felt the soft splash on the back on my hand, where it was still raised to my clamped shut jaw. That vampire, the blonde one who was the most menacing even without the crimson eyes, _had made me shut my mouth without my ordering so_. She had forced my body to do something I didn't want it to. Although it was a relatively small thing, I felt violated all the same. How dare she? It was the vilest feeling in the world; having your body act in a way you did not certify. I felt physically sick when she had stared at me after that. I had wanted to faint, to block it all out, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins had prevented that happening.

Amaya watched as they headed up the stairs, and then ran back over to me, clutching me to her shoulder as I shook with silent sobs. My jaw relaxed all of a sudden, and as it loosened, the silent sobs found my voice and threw themselves off my tongue. Bella was staring at me from the kitchen opening, a distressed look across her deep chocolaty eyes.

"Amaya, what was all that about?" She whispered.

"Edward wanted to know, his desire was to know if I had ever _murdered_ anyone. And Alaizabel." she replied.

"Then," Bella said, a small glimmer of confusion played across her pale face "why didn't he let you go immediately, Amaya?" She recounted quick as lightning. Bella never missed anything; her eyes were as quick to pick up detail as a hawk.

"I never murdered a vampire. I'd never even met one until your _kang-shi_ family, but I have murdered a person before. When I saw the refinement in his desire, to know if it was ever a vampire, I showed him it wasn't" She said, her eyes dropped to the floor and her voice dead.

"Who did you kill?" I asked. Both Amaya and Bella jumped at my voice. Amaya looked at me with deep jet eyes, and I could tell she didn't want me to go there, but I was too emotional to care about anybody else's feelings. "Well?" I asked, perhaps harsher than I should have.

"My brother." she said emotionlessly, but her eyes accused me.

"Why?" asked Bella, coming over to where Amaya cradled me in her arms, on the floor as my knees had given out. Perhaps she couldn't tell but I could feel that Amaya had gone stiff, like she was holding a dead body that she wanted to be rid of quickly.

"After I changed for the first time, my first song was through thin water and he was very close to me. It drove him insane and it made him..." she paused, her eyebrows creasing in pain. "He killed himself"

"What do you mean?" I asked again, my curiosity outweighing my respect for her feelings. But Bella didn't chide me, she wanted to know too. Amaya continued to talk directly to Bella, and positioned herself so that I had to take myself out of her arms. She was more than annoyed at me.

"He gouged out the tattoo of Chiang Kai-Shek on his arm with a machete. He tore through an artery and bled to death. But before he died, he - tried to hack his own head off." She said.  
"It was like he wanted to die like the communists he hated so much. But he bled out before he could really do much more than slit his throat." She subconsciously put her hand to her throat. Both Bella and I were silent, our mouths mirroring each other in an _oh!_ of shock.

Edward came down then, his eyes glowing with what looked like satisfaction.  
"It's all straightened out. Don't worry, they shall not harm you, I promise." He said, though he was speaking directly to Bella. I felt soothed by his words, although I was never completely sure they applied to me and Amaya.

**************************************************

A few hours later, and Amaryllis and Katherine had been shown a place to stay at the Cullens huge house. Alice glided into the room I was in, where I was pouring over pictures of Greek mythology from an old reference book that Carlisle had given me.

"So you like that sort of stuff, huh?" she asked.  
"Yeh, I used to love the idea of monsters and fairies. Feels kind of weird looking at it now. Especially this one." I pointed at a painting of Sirens, huge black crows with women's heads.

Alice laughed.  
"You don't know the half of it. Have you ever tried watching a Dracula movie?" I laughed heartily at this. The clichéd capes, coffins and fangs thing must seem really tiresome to them.  
"So tell me, what's Amaryllis and Katherine's back story?" I was strangely intrigued by the younger vampire; her face triggered a distant thought in my mind that I couldn't place.  
"Well, Amaryllis is old. Very old. She's from about the time that these painting are set in," Alice pointed to the multiple paintings of Greek myths. "Her name was originally Penelope."  
"That's a coincidence; half of these are based on the Odyssey." I wondered aloud. Alice stared at me like I was an idiot. Then it hit home.

"Oh my GOD! She is _the_ Penelope?!?!" I exclaimed. Alice nodded before continuing her story.  
"Yeh, that's her. You know, Homer got it all wrong. The real story is much more violent. One of her 109 suitors-"  
"No, there were only 108." I corrected.  
"Alaizabel, the 109th was a vampire. He wasn't exactly going to make himself seen in the middle of a sunny day in Greece now was he? Anyway, he pretended to be one of the Gods, and promised her immortality, so she could be beautiful and youthful for her husband should he ever return home. She accepted, and I think you know what he did." I nodded gob smacked. "But when she woke, he lost control of her, as newborns are very strong. Not only did she murder ALL of her suitors, but she killed the entire household and her son. The suitor - we never found out his name, she only called him Adonis - was horrified and fled with her, taking her as his mate. When Odysseus returned home, he thought that an army must have destroyed his home and taken his wife as a slave. He fabricated the whole story you know as the Odyssey so firstly his life wouldn't seem quite so pathetic, and that no-one would ever know about the atrocities committed in his house. I think deep down, he guessed she did it somehow." Alice said, looking out the window, her small frame practically buzzing with excitement as she relayed the story.

"Then they ravaged Greece and southern Europe for a good millennia. She changed her name to Amaryllis - it literally means "_sparkle_" in Greek - she says to embrace her new life, but I think it was because Penelope reminded her too much of her previous life, the husband and son she had lost.

"Then Adonis, being the clever man he was, hunted too close to Volterra, and got himself executed by the Volturi."  
"Who are the Volturi?" I asked  
"Er... Kind of like the vampire mafia I guess. They're our only law enforcement. Anyway, Amaryllis used her power to escape and ran away to northern Europe. And that's where she met Jonaten." I knew the rest from there. She had become his mate, and they'd murdered a woman in London a while back, and the Jonaten went mad from this woman's blood, and Katherine was changed. Again this story nudged at that part of my brain that recognized Katherine, something was bugging me that there was a connection that I had yet to make.

"So what's Katherine's back story?" I probed.  
"She grew up is a small town south of London, Orpington."

The nudging really began to irritate me.

"She was a psychiatric patient at a small clinic there. Nothing major, just teenage depression, but her parents freaked out and sent her there all the same," The prodding in my mind increased ten fold. Something was not right about this. I felt like I was standing on a land mine, something was about to explode.

"She was out with her doctor the night she died."

**BOOM**

It hit me then, hard and fast and unfeelingly. It coursed through my veins like barbed wire, and I gasped in horrible realization.  
I knew this girl; I'd seen her photos all around my town after she had gone missing. She was a patient at the clinic where my mother worked.

"Alice, the woman who was with her! Who was she?!" I cried.

"I don't know her name! But she had glasses and red curly hair." she replied, startled at my sudden ferocity.

I screamed in mental anguish as the pieces slotted together perfectly. Edward flew down the stairs before the sound had left my mouth, his beautiful face screwed up in torment.

"I am **so** sorry Alaizabel; I should have worked it out!" He cried as he caught me. I had fallen out of my seat in hysteria, my incoherent screams morphing into a word.

No. _NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!_

_  
_The doctor who was with the girl Katherine. That was my mother. My mother, who had been murdered in London, when I was just 15. The police had said it had been Katherine, probably killed her for money or something, although her purse had been left untouched, and they'd never caught her. The case had gone cold. That was why we had finally left London. We wanted to get away from the memory. I recognized Katherine from the photos my mother had taken of her patients. But she still didn't look like the Katherine I knew. The old one had lank hair, pulled back in a small pony tail all the time, had worn glasses and always looked haggard, worn, scared. This new vampiric Katherine had glossy loose hair, no glasses and was the very epitome of perfection, and was as fierce as King Leonidas himself.

Nothing to compare.

But then another truth hit home. The vampire upstairs had made my mother _slit her own throat_ and then snapped her neck. My mother's murderer lay less than 50 metres away from me. I had stood in her prescience and done nothing. The disgust and shock of that realization was too much for me and in that moment I truly touched madness.

But the words just kept spewing out of my mouth like a tidal wave.  
"NO NO NO NO NO!"  
"What's going on?! Get off Alaizabel!!!" screamed Amaya, seeing only two vampires holding down a kicking young girl. She didn't know they were preventing me from having a fit. Or trying to kill someone.  
"Why does she want to kill Amaryllis? What did she do to her?!" screeched Amaya, staring at Edward while she held my spasming hand.

"Alaizabel, I'm so sorry. Please, I am _so_ sorry!" whispered Edward in my ear, as he pinioned my shoulders to the light wooden floor, stopping my body from floundering like a fish on the deck of a boat, but my face was contorted in agony, my eyes rolling up to stare at my skull. The words made my screams jerk back into non-verbal cries, and my throat was on fire.

In fact, every part of me was on fire. I could feel the burning building in my muscles, the power building behind me, the pressure mounting in my chest.  
"We have to get her to water, quickly!" yelled Amaya.

Before I knew it, I was flying through the forest, facing backwards as I was being carried over someone's shoulder. Edward was running behind me, so it wasn't him who carried me. It was Emmett, his huge muscles flitting lithely through the trees, the echoes of my sobs glancing through them just as quick. He stared into my eyes and I could have sworn I saw tears, but perhaps it was merely the deluge of my own.

And then we were at the beach, the trees fading away, being replaced by sand. And all that time, the pressure was swelling. My ribcage felt like it was going to implode, the agony was unbearable.

I was plunged into freezing water, the blackness total. This time I didn't struggle against the pull. The pain of water ripping through my throat was nothing compared to what I was already feeling.

As I died, my _fang-qui_ took over with a smile.

**Coming soon: the next chapter is from… Katherine! We'll get an alternate perspective of the end of this chapter plus what happens in the house afterwards.**

**And how did everybody like this one? I value everybody's opinion so please write in!**

**Lovage!**


	17. Chapter 17

**This is from Katherine's P.o.V, and I've dedicated her to a VERY special friend of mine, Katie. Katie had a lot of input into this chapter, and all subsequent chapters from Katherine, so snaps for Katie!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 17: Katherine: Fish and faux pas.

Well, the Cullens had a nice house, I'd give them that. After the study and the explanation, we'd been asked to stay for a while. Caramel-haired Esme - I knew her name now - showed us to a large, well-lit room and we'd been invited to make ourselves at home. But something was wrong.

Amaryllis wasn't talking to me. As soon as the door was closed she made straight for the window, and stood, her back to me, her marble forehead resting on the glass. I was still so young to the life of a vampire, that I expected to see the plume of white vapor on the glass where she breathed, but there was none. I had a bit of a _"duh?!"_ moment before I sat down on the bed in the spare room, unsure of myself in this monumental house.

Mentally I poured over what we'd just been told. So the strange-smelling woman Amaya was a Siren – it made sense when you factored in the salty tang of her scent – and the small, red-headed teen was one too. I thought of her eyes, wide with fear, and frowned to myself. New-born vampires, reckless teenagers…. in my experience, having someone so unaware carrying _so much_ power couldn't be good. Perhaps it would be best if we left soon, to carry on wandering before anything bad could happen? Knitting my fingers together I looked to Amaryllis.

"Amaryllis, how long do you want to stay here?"

She didn't respond, and frowning to myself I didn't wait long for an answer. I couldn't understand what_ I'd_ done wrong. My mind swirled to the other tale Carlisle had told; the tale of my birth and Jonaten's death, a little swell of sadness rose and fell in my chest. I'd always felt honoured to be a vampire, secretly proud that of all the six million people in that crowed city, she had chosen me to be her accomplice, her friend throughout eternity. Somehow, hearing my creation had been a mistake - an accident brought about by tainted blood - it took the sparkle out of more than my skin.

But I would show them - I decided - I would show them I was no slip-up.

It still didn't help the fact that I felt Amaryllis was slipping away from me. She'd been quite protective of me since I'd joined her lifestyle, but in the last few days she'd been distant, and our arrival in this dingy little green town had escalated it into alienation. The thoughts bit away and refused to let me be. Attempting to draw myself away from my thoughts I listened to the noises of the house.

Downstairs, something was happening – my sensitive ears detected screams, sobs, raised voices and the frantic movement of feet. The screaming almost made me shudder; it was laced with menace and promises of foreboding that set my teeth on edge. It had to be one of the Cullens, nothing on earth made a noise like that. Had the climax of this siren nightmare come already, I wondered incredulously? Rising from the sofa, I decided it would be a good idea to check it out.

"I'm just going downstairs, okay?" I murmured at Amaryllis' back.

Again, she didn't reply.

Sighing, I left the room and headed for the staircase. Below me, a new vampire had joined the fray, and carrying the small, red-headed teen he raced out the front door, followed by Edward. By the time I'd reached the bottoms of the stairs, the house was as good as empty, save the Siren Amaya and a small, petite vampire who I guessed had to be Alice. Her description fitted that with which I was familiar. She didn't turn to greet me as I entered the room, and for a second I wondered if I'd randomly become invisible for a few moments, as no one seemed to pay me any attention.

Then, the Siren spoke.

"You," Her voice was flat with menace, and alarmed I saw her clenched fists were trembling with some form of emotion. "You blood-sucking vampire bitch!"

She rounded, her dark eyes blazing, and I drew back instinctively defensive. "Me?"

"How_ dare_ you think you can show your face here after what you and your mistress did to her?" The siren was mad, I realised now, mad with anger and rage that at the moment was directed entirely my way.

"I haven't done anything!" I spat back. Mentally, those stories of destructive, enraged sirens were doing neon cartwheels in my mind.

The siren's eyes flashed, "You're the reason that that child has no mother, you and the … the.-_ leech_ upstairs."

In a flare of anger I realised she was talking about Amaryllis.

"Don't you dare call her that!" I retorted, and by the glass wall of the room Alice turned to watch us both.

Above us, I head footsteps move on the pale wooden floorboards and I realised with a slight rush of fear that Amaryllis was coming downstairs. Amaryllis was my best friend, yet she could turn in a split second from tranquil to terrifying – I didn't want to be around to witness it.

"You and your kind," Amaya ranted on, "You think you can just treat people like that, leaving them for dead in the streets while back at home they have children and families waiting for them. You're monsters, filthy, no better than animals!"

Amaryllis was coming down the stairs. Gliding past me into the lounge, and I was left to follow in her wake.

The siren was as good as spitting flames now,

She snarled "I should destroy you right now. Alaizabel deserves justice!" with that, she breathed in deep, like she was going to blow us away. But her vindictive smile had me thinking about how good that expression would look with my fist in the middle of it.

Amaryllis just stood, staring at her with wide golden eyes, and I felt an instinctive rush to protect her. Striding forward, I put myself between the pair of them.

"Leave us alone." I warned her, drawing my top lip back over my razor teeth, just enough to send a message. A threat.

The siren smirked, her burning rage gradually becoming replaced with malicious spite – I could see it in her narrow dark eyes. Alice must have read the expression on my face, I assumed, for she took a step towards Amaya, wary.

The siren bristled, drawing herself to her full height, and with a silent smirk she spat at us both. The gesture was small, but it was enough – in a flash my temper ignited with a flare and I saw red, literally. My ears rang, and pressure seemed to mount in my mind. With a snarl I lurched forward, knees bending to pounce, and froze. Amaryllis had got me into her hold and I was as free to wander about as a dog in a cage. Wordlessly, I threw myself at the bars in my mind, whilst my body spun on the balls of my feet and went to walk away, to leave the room there and then.

Over my shoulder I could here the fish bitch laugh, a short, sharp "hah" that ricocheted round the room. Suddenly, the pressure on my mind was gone. The bars vanished and the beast was out.

In three steps I was across the room, the back of my flying hand slamming into the defined cheekbone on the left of Amaya's face. An ear-splitting crack reverberated from the impact, her cheekbone giving under my stone-hard knuckles. The Siren hurtled backwards - thrown by the force of my strike - and slammed into the wall, sending a terracotta vase that I prayed in a millisecond wasn't authentic crashing to the floor.

"Stop her!" A wind-chime voice cried, but no one did – not even Amaryllis.

I bent my knees, dropping into a hunting crouch, and leapt forward to land at the Siren's side. Her eyes, wide in terror, watched my approach. For a moment it was as though I wasn't in control anymore. It was someone else's arm reaching forward, someone else's fingers closing around the tender windpipe, squeezing gently as the cartilage strained against the onslaught. Snarls punctuated squawks, as under my fist Amaya suffocated - and then a hand on my arm ended it all. I turned, found Amaryllis' saddened face just inches from mine, and froze.

Gently, her arms encircled my own, and prized my hands away. I stumbled back, a little dazed by my own ferocity and confused. Why hadn't she just forced me to move? Amaryllis moved in front of me, shielding me from the Siren. Behind us, I was aware that others had entered the room – Carlisle, Edward, Esme and a blond vampire who was restraining a worried Alice in his firm hold. And they were all staring at me.

I shrank back, literally, my hands trembling with pent-up anger, unsure how to deal with this. I had been justified, Amaya had insulted both me and Amaryllis – she had spat on us for goodness sake! But still, this had to be the ultimate in guest faux-pas: beating up your hosts' allies in their living room. Silence fell, all golden eyes still on me. Then Amaryllis stepped forward.

"I am so sorry everyone," She murmured bashfully, "I wasn't myself for a moment there – your story," she nodded to Carlisle, "Your story brought up some unexpected feelings, and in the heat of the moment I was quite overcome. Some of us have trouble controlling our tempers, and Katherine was merely protecting me. Please," She extended a hand out to the fallen Amaya, "Accept my full apology on behalf of both me and my charge."

It was childish, I knew, but I couldn't resist it. As her hand reached out towards the Siren I felt a momentary burst of fear, and jerkily I grabbed her arm to stop her in her tracks. She turned to me, her golden eyes startled, and I felt like a child again.

"Please," I mumbled, slightly confused. There were too many meanings to that one word – please apologize for me, please make the situation better again, please don't be angry and above all _please_ don't touch that Siren, that danger that could tear us apart like it did Jonaten.

But Amaya didn't need Amaryllis' help. Tossing her hair over her shoulder she rose to her feet, and with one hand on her bruised neck stalked out of the room, glaring at as all murderously. Carlisle shifted awkwardly, and then took a step forward,

"Perhaps it's best," he said placating, "If you two stay out of each others way for the moment."

"After all," he murmured partly to himself, "The last thing we need is any fang-qui disasters."

"What?" Edward's eyes switched from me to Carlisle, his forehead creasing in a frown.

Carlisle waved his hand airily, dismissing the gesture, "It's nothing, just a theory I've been working on."

"Explain." Amaryllis said firmly, turning away from me to look to the golden-eyed vampire.

He nodded. "Well, after Amaya explained to us the workings of a Siren, I was interested in how biologically the principle of the fang-qui works. I took tissue samples from Alaizabel to investigate. But the strange thing is that the tissue itself seems to bear the fang-qui – when the tissue is taken from the body, the fang-qui registers that it is being attacked and _the tissue_ sings. Now, this must mean the fang qui is born in the cells, genetically transferred."

He gestured absently, lost in his world of biology. "Which, would explain how it passes through family members. Take, for example, Alaizabel's mother – she was not a siren and yet the fate of Jonaten indicates the fang-qui was involved. Again, you have that repeated pattern of manipulation, the twisting of fears into desires – Jonaten didn't want to die, and yet on absorbing the fang-qui through the bloodstream it became his one goal."

Standing close to Amaryllis, I felt her tremble slightly at the mention of her former partner and shot a daggered glance at Carlisle. He caught my eye, and swiftly moved on.

"But then we see the other case of murder too – Amaya's brother."

Mentally, I fumed. That bitch, calling _us_ murderous when she had killed her own family member! I swore to myself that next time I would cause permanent damage, and then quickly vanquished the thought as I caught Edward staring my way, eyebrows raised.

Carlisle continued. "Amaya's brother was an anti-Communist, yet when he attacked her and she sang, he attempted to gauge the tattoo of his party's allegiance out of his arm, and remove his own head – communists were ritually beheaded - and died as a result. Now my theory based on this is that when the carrier of the fang-qui gene is in danger, genetically the body responds by releasing the pheromones the fang-qui triggers and psychologically destroying the attacker's grasp on realism. They tear themselves apart, try and cut off their own flesh, all to prevent the death of the fang-qui carrier – it's a defense mechanism, a method of protection to ensure the gene's survival and subsequent transference onto any young the carrier conceives. And if I'm right…"

His concerned golden eyes met my crimson ones and I automatically pulled back.

"If I'm right," He said gently, "Then it seems you, little one, had a lucky escape. Had Amaya not had as good a control, or had you drank her blood, the outcome of that little tussle would have been undoubtedly rather different..."

**Coming soon: the next chapter is from…(wait for it) Bella! And we get to see what happens to 'Laiz when she becomes fully shifted! :O!**

**-FB**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi all, OMG I can't believe we've got to chapter 18! EEEEK!**

**Ok, so this is from Bella and it's not a particularly long chapter, but more like a nice bridge between to major action/drama scenes. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 18: Bella: Fight and flight.

I was in the kitchen the whole time.

Edward - furious that I hadn't gone home - had insisted I at least stay in the one part of the house vampires were least likely to go. Begrudgingly, I complied.  
But then, Katherine and Amaya had a miniature Mexican stand off in the lounge, and I couldn't help but ogle. Katherine as a vampire was infinitely strong, but apparently Amaya was up to the task. However, she wasn't unbreakable, as after Katherine had retreated upstairs with the rest of the Cullens, Amaya had staggered into the kitchen to clean her face. She was clutching her cheek, the flesh around it already swelling and going black with bruises.  
"_Kang-shi_ broke my goddamn cheekbone." She explained as she caught me staring at it while she pressed a towel to it tenderly.  
"Don't worry, we heal fast. Just, it stings a lot." She said, and right on cue, she winced. No wonder it stung, with their blood being as salty as it was, it must have be like pouring iodine onto it. Nasty. I didn't offer any help though, she was a proud girl if ever I saw one, and seeing her reaction to Katherine, I didn't want to get in her way.

"Wise choice." She muttered under her breath.

I was half considering phoning Jake, just to let him know about the newcomers. Edward had not said I couldn't, but I was terrified that the Cullens would get in trouble for harboring non-veggie vamps. I couldn't make up my mind, being tossed on the horns of the proverbial dilemma. I needed something to tip the scales.

Suddenly, Katherine came bounding down the steps, and although no moisture was in her horrifically crimson eyes, she looked on the verge of tears. All within one second she had glared at me, hissed at Amaya who was still cleaning her wound, and then flitting out of the back door, a flash of white shrinking into the oppressing green. The Cullens and Amaryllis came down less than half a second later, and they too bounded after her, except Rosalie and Edward.

"Bella, are you safe?" He enquired. He knew I was physically unscathed, but I had a suspicion he meant my mental welfare.

"F-fine." I stammered. His beauty still caught me off guard.

"Edward." Rosalie prompted. She was itching to go, that was obvious. He was about to turn, I could see it in his great golden eyes, but I caught his arm, cold and hard beneath my palm.

"Didn't you go out? What happened?" I asked, seriously. Now that I was over his good looks (momentarily), I felt the rush of annoyance that _again_ I was being kept out of the loop.

Before Edward could even breathe in to talk, Rosalie cut in. "Amaya got fussy with Katherine and Amaryllis,"

Amaya hissed at the blonde vampire

"And we had to pull them apart. We explained some things to Katherine that got her pretty wound up, and she took off. Edward came back just as we were explaining. Happy? Good. Edward, move!" She ordered. He rolled his eyes.

"We have to go after her, make sure she doesn't do anything... regrettable" he added.  
"Wait, you're taking me, aren't you?" I said immediately. I refused to miss this, I was just as much part of the situation as he was, and I refused to sit in the bleachers. He glared at me like I had said something he really didn't want me to, which was probably the case.

But he still picked me up and headed for the door.  
"Rose, take Amaya. Just do it." He threw over his shoulder.

As we streaked past the trees, following the scent, a grabbed my phone from my pocket. I had saved the text into the Drafts box, unsure of whether to send it. Now I was sure. As we passed by yet another fallen tree I hit the "send" button on the text which read,

**"New V's in Forks. Please keep CALM."******

We finally got out of the darkness of the trees onto a landscape that with the sudden inclusion of light was blinding. I recognized it after Edward had safely stowed me on another fallen tree trunk (had there been a hurricane I'd missed?).

We were at First beach.  
Katherine was staring at the water, body tensed and aggressive, yet fearful too. The way she held her shoulders was like someone who was preparing to turn and run as much as someone preparing to fight.  
In fact, every one was staring at the water. Amaya had her hand over her mouth like she'd just seen a car crash, tears spilling down like rain water. What was it?!

"Can't you hear it?" She turned, astounded towards me.  
"Hear _what?!"_ I whispered back. I didn't hear anything.  
"Listen!" She urged me.  
I did. Really, REALLY hard. I heard the wind in the leaves, and the soft growl of the surf. And in the distance, I heard a funny high pitched noise but I thought perhaps it was my ears ringing.  
Suddenly, Katherine yelped, like an injured dog, and flitted to Amaryllis, standing protectively in front of her from an unseen foe.

Up from the water, a head appeared.

The ringing in my ears got louder, painful slightly, and I dug in a finger to try and quell it.  
"Amaya, make her stop." called Edward, his eyes never leaving the rising body.  
"I cannot!" replied Amaya, horrified at the realization of her own words. "She is too strong. Her fang-qui is too strong!"  
I didn't understand anything of what was going on. Who was it?

But then I recognized the pale, heart shaped face, and the short hair, dark from the water, on top of it. Alaizabel stood with the water dripping off her, as still and as heartless as a statue.

Katherine stood forward, a ripping growl that physically hurt my chest to listen to it emanating from her own. Alaizabel was staring opened mouthed at her, her hands curled in a malicious claw, and her burning eyes exuding nothing but raw hatred. Her eyes, I noticed, were completely black. Not just the iris, but the entire orb itself had been stained in ink.

The two spheres of blazing coal flared brighter as Katherine leapt into the air towards her.

**Hope that's got you interested to find out what happens next – more action I promise!**

**Right so the next chapter is from Edward!!! Keep a look out and tell me what you think!**

-FB


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey all welcome to the next chapter! Sorry it's been a while, I have been uberly busy with even more exams and generally school schizzle. **

**Hope you all enjoy this one, from Edwards P.o.V (seriously, he's so much fun to write – I get to use all this amazing vocab and synonyms that generally I wouldn't use for anyone else! I think it's what we like to call "**_**Thesaurus Rape**_**")**

**Reviews majorly welcome: for every review not only will I personally reply but I'll also (thinks) hug a tree!**

**Come on now people, trees need love too, so let's get those reviews rolling!**

**ENJOY!**

Chapter 19: Edward: Crying 'wolf!'

Had I not seen the slight shift of her posture out of the corner of my eye, Katherine would have been obliterated.

Seeing her move her weight onto her front foot as she leapt towards Alaizabel, who was rising out of the water like a hellish watery monolith, brought me back to reality. I had not been paying attention to the crowd around me, barely noticing even when Bella's phoned vibrated in her pocket 5 feet away. I was totally enthralled by Alaizabel's song. The song that echoed out of her mouth was as powerful as a full royal orchestra, and yet as piercing as a single glass bell.

Luckily, vampires did not succumb to the otherwise undeniable sonic message engraved in a Siren song. I think it was because of that age old theory - a human only ever uses 10% of their brain. I believed that that last 1% that controlled your reflexes, your heart convulsing and your lungs expanding and contracting stopped the rest of your brain from exploring the extra 90%, otherwise known as the subconscious, to be Freudian. That was how a Siren's song worked; it invaded that comatose brain activity and subtly shifted it to affect the working 10%. But with a vampire, we had no human reflexes. Our lungs sucked in air out of habit, not because we needed it to live, and our hearts didn't pump, period. That allowed that usually unused 90% to become our fully working conscious, alerting us to any attempt at sabotage, and effectively giving us immunity. The Siren song depended on the fact that you consciously didn't know what they were doing.

I hoped.

But although I did not fall prey to this mind trick, the echoes of her thoughts held me spell bound anyway. I heard her fang-qui come alive and stood paralyzed by its voice.

[_Come to the water, murderess, blood-drinker, undead soon to STAY dead. Come to the sea, and let me get you. I should almost thank you, Sparkling Death. If not for you, this girl would never have given into me so easily. Only I, the un-named storm remain. Me! Me! Me!] _It cackled with hideous beauty.

_[Come to the sea and let me _**_kill_**_ you.]_

_  
_How could a voice with such promises of evil, that was born into and bred dark thoughts, be so undeniably beautiful?

_[Ah, so you want to shatter me, do you?] _The voice was now directed at another, at Katherine.

_[I saw what you did to those trees, you're powerful. But so am I. Shatter me, eh? No. Shatter YOURSELF] _the voice commanded.

Oh, I thought. That was what all the fallen, splintered trees were about. Katherine had a 'talent'. She could make things _shatter_. I wondered in the back of my mind if it had anything to do with the fact that the last thing she would have head was the sound of the glass window breaking but dismissed the trivial thought just as quickly. If Alaizabel's _fang-qui_ was a powerful as I suspected, then Katherine would turn upon herself if she continued to fly through the air towards the singing Siren of fury. But how could that work, she was a vampire!  
Even so, I'd rather not test the theory, as it was only that. A theory.

A lunged forward and jumped between the two, my arm swinging out to catch Katherine full in the chest, swerving her course of movement so she hurtled backwards, the sand and pebbles flying up to block the minimal light as she shot into a bank, like a meteorite. Alaizabel's song cut short, surprise stealing her voice, while her _fang-qui_ raged voicelessly at my intervention. Instantly, Katherine was up one her feet again, her lips pulled viciously over her whiter than white teeth. Her fists shook and, just like bullets smacking into the sand, pebbles within a 20 foot radius of her shattered into stone-dust. As the dust settled, I noted in the corner of my mind that the Alaizabel _I_ knew, the more-than-averagely observant English girl who was usually questioning her sanity as much as anything else, stirred in the back of her mind. She was coming back to life.  
"Amaya, now!" I commanded. If Amaya could get her to calm down, now was the time to do it, while her fang-qui was disorientated.

"**Alaizabel. Come Back**." She ordered, with as much power as she could muster, she own fang-qui fighting along with her to control the younger Siren. The air around her seemed to shimmer as she said it.

No. It _did_ shimmer. But it wasn't her that was doing it. It was the signal of a phasing wolf. Jacob Black.

I would have rolled my eyes to the heavens had I not had them trained so intently on Katherine.

Out of the trees, three enormous wolves flashed into view. A great russet brown one, a sandy smaller one and grayish brown one with a streak of white on its back that I didn't recognize. The eyes betrayed her identity, it was Tala.

Seth's wolf yelped in surprise as he saw not only two new vampires (their timing could not have been more inconvenient) but the harmless English girl now in the full throws of a Siren; harmless no longer.

Katherine felt threatened by these new comers, and her thoughts flashed over ideas of an ambush. She felt cornered, and she would lash out. She lurched towards Tala, who expertly dodged her, my eyebrows rising at her excellent reflexes. Jacob and Seth set up a chorus of protective barks, and Seth hastily went for the jugular. Katherine lashed out, catching him on the muzzle, his teeth clacking together as his jaw whiplashed. Tala whined noisily in panicked concern, and Jacobs's eyes narrowed.

_stupid boy, don't do it as well!_ I thought, projecting the thought as much as I could.  
We were all surrounding Katherine now, like Serengeti hunters trapping a leopard. I could hear her thoughts, all swarming around Amaryllis.  
"_Why aren't you helping me!? Amaryllis, why are you standing there? I was protecting YOU! WHY DON'T YOU CARE?!!!!" _

_  
_That was when I noted with genuine surprise that Amaryllis, that Greek Goddess, was standing by the trees, far away from all of us, even Bella. Though she stood as still as stone, her positioning was as if she stopped mid-turn. Like she was about to run.  
Amaya broke the brutal silence.

"Enough! Please, everyone. **Just stop**." She rounded on the wolves at the last words, forcing their paws to literally stay planted on the ground. Katherine was glowering at her, ego visibly bruised.

"She was just protecting her kin. Every one of you would do the same. Just leave it be." Amaya explained, as if that cleared the whole matter up.

"Go to Bella, Edward." She murmured. I turned, and saw Bella visibly shaking. I ran over in a millisecond and held her to my chest, breathing with her to calm her down, ignoring the burning at the back of my throat from her pungent scent, and the burning elsewhere for Bella too.

How could I have been so abysmally stupid? I should have never given into to her protestations at the house; I should have left her there. Stupid, ridiculous, idiotic boy! Jacob whined in concern, and I nodded, letting him know that she's be fine.

"Is Seth o-ok?" She mumbled. I nodded.

"What about Alaizabel?" she asked. As I could not honestly confirm that she was safe, I looked round at where she had been. She was curled in the surf, spewing her guts out onto the water, her heart thrumming in pain. The _fang-qui _was gone, for now. Although I felt wretched for having caused her so much anguish and distress, I could not bring myself to leave Bella alone; she was my first and only concern. So, making excuses in my head for my actions that seemed pathetic even to me, I left Alaizabel in a heap of sobbing, shivering agony on the sand. Bella spotted her and gasped, fresh tears of pity welling in her huge chocolate brown eyes. She shifted her weight and I knew she wanted to help her, but I kept my arms like a protective cage around her. She wasn't going anywhere near Alaizabel right now. She shouldn't even be here at all.

A rustle of leaves brought my attention back to the scene to my left. The Quileutes emerged from the trees in human form, having retreated into the green to phase. I could hear their thoughts swirling around like smoke.

"_Goddamn bloodsucker! I'm actually gonna KILL him for that. Thank God Bella told me, what the HELL was he thinking?!?!"_ raged Jacob. Oh, so that was the buzz on Bella's phone. She'd cried "wolf!"

"_Ow, ow, ow, ow OW! Ah, my nose! Eugh, I hope I didn't bloody my shirt, Mom'll freak if I did. But anyway, what the hell?! Who're they? Who's she?" _Seth though, thinking about Amaryllis, Katherine and Amaya respectively.

"_Ok, keep calm. Calm now. Just 'cos you're new to this doesn't mean you can freak out. But Oh dear LORD he's gorgeous! No, no! Not looking at him, __**not looking**__! Right, wolves good, veggie vamps good, non veggie vamps bad, and siren girls... um, god I dunno!" _worried Tala, thinking about Jasper, and then to my surprise Jacob, before reverting to the matter at hand.

Before anyone could speak a word, Amaryllis - now back at the scene - spoke. Not to the group, but directly at Tala, who stared at her with revulsion and enthrallment in her green and black eyes.

"You are Neame's daughter, aren't you?"

**Righty, so has that got you all excited? Yes, no, maybe, pie?**

**Reviews = ****loved trees****. If you don't review, a tree will go unloved: shame on you! :P**

_**Coming soon**_**: next chapter from … TALA! We get a nice big break from the main story and a lovely little subplot. :D:D:D**

**-FB**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey all, I'm back!**

**Righty so, this is chapter 20, from the view point of the amazing, fun, and kooky Tala Bourne! Btw, the chapter title is the name of a song by the amazing brit group 'Elliot Minor', so I give them credit for the fun name!**

**Enjoy and review, those trees need you!**

Chapter 20: Tala: The white one is evil.

"You're Neame's daughter, aren't you?" said the drop-dead gorgeous vampire coming up next to Edward. And I wasn't kidding when I said 'drop-dead', she was so stunning, yet I got a feeling it was deadly. Venus fly-trap style.

GAH! I was going to collapse with the amount of ridiculously amazing men around me, and I wasn't even a lesbian but the girls where just amazing. Katy Perry's song got stuck in my mind at the _most_ inconvenient of times.  
"_I kissed a girl_..."

Edward snorted divinely. I blushed beetroot red, mortified that he'd heard me. Recollecting the words that should have had me spluttering, not the vampires, I forced myself to reply.

"uhhhhhh yeh. How did you-" I cut myself short, the full reality of what she just said hitting home. How the hell did she know about my mom? How did she know who I was? WHAT THE F-!

"Tala," said Edward cutting in on my expletive thought. "Give her a chance to explain, alright?" he purred gracefully.  
My face melted into the most idiotic of grins. _stupid stupid STUPID girl, pull it together!_

_  
__"_Ok." I mumbled, now focusing on Jasper who was pursing his lips, but it looked like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. Now I was freaking out inside my head that my fly was undone, or something was tucked in somewhere it shouldn't be. I inconspicuously tried feeling around to see if that was the case. I glanced over to see Jake looking at me like I was a crazy person, only to realize then that I had one hand on my ass and the other dangerously close to my chest. I dropped my hands to behind my back and coughed loudly, bringing the attention back to the funny accented vampire.

"Amaryllis, you should explain to her." said Edward, now looking very solemn. I didn't like where this was going. I must have shown it, because Seth held my hand behind my back, and Jacob stood that little bit closer, his heat making the rest of me feel cold where it wasn't close to him.

"Tala..." she began. Okay, I was really not a happy bunny right now. My 'spidey-sense' was tingling like I'd just sat on poison-ivy.

"Your mother, she had a brother didn't she? Seamus?"

Ok, that I did **not** see coming in a million years. Seamus had disappeared before mom died...  
What on earth had he got to do with this?

The vampire looked at Edward, like she was asking for help.  
"Tala, Seamus didn't disappear. He got – he was turned." He said, not looking into my eyes.

Turned? Huh, like he got turned Republican not Democrat? He got turned into a possum, a bat, a-?  
Bat.

Bat like vampire bat.

Like _vampire_.

I wobbled a bit, and the scene spun ever so slightly. I'd never been drunk, but I guess this is what it felt like after a while. When I moved my head, the scene shifted just a fraction of a second too slow. Oh my lord, my uncle got turned into a vampire.  
But who did it?

Immediately my mind snapped to the blonde vampire, and my fists shook with anger. Jacob and Seth, though both appalled, looked even more horrified at my expression. I severely regretted letting Edward stop the younger vampire from getting destroyed by the redhead Siren girl. That would have served her right.

An eye for an eye.

"No! Tala, I promise it wasn't her!" Edward interjected quickly. I believed him, there was too much sincerity in his amazing voice to deny, but my hands still shook.  
"I'll take over from here." She said quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. I saw Bella stiffen momentarily in the background.  
"Me and my mate, Jonaten were near that area three years back. We met Seamus years after he'd been turned. He told us what happened to him...  
"Years before there had been a wandering vampire, and she had seduced him. _Succubus_ I believe it is called. But she was interrupted whilst feeding and left him to die," She paused a moment as the tears pricked at my eyes.  
"When he was turned, he had no idea what he was, no idea at all. So, thinking that he was safe, he went back to his only relative, his sister Neame. It took him a month to get to her; somehow he never came into contact with a human until then. Or if he did he ignored the scent, he was desperate to find her. But when he arrived, she didn't recognize him, and try as he might, she fought him away. You lived in a block of flats at the time, do you remember?" She asked me.

I nodded my head gruffly; I didn't like to think of that place anymore.

"So when she went to run away from him, down the steps, he tried to stop her. He grabbed her shoulder so hard - he didn't know his strength - that the force broke her neck. But she was still alive, and he had to keep the utmost control not to feed from her then and there, she was bleeding internally and her blood was the first he had smelt since being turned. He phoned an ambulance and fled. But he read the paper the next day, found it tossed in a trash can. The article said she was in a critical condition, with a husband and daughter left. That was when he decided to try and fight off what ever he had become. He didn't feed, not even on animals. He tried to pay his penance." She looked at me with imploring eyes, like she was saying sorry for him. I forgot how angry I was as I stared into her huge golden copper eyes, and although they were not lachrymose, the rest of her expression made up for the tears she couldn't shed.

"When we found him, he was as near to death as we can get. He barely had any strength, and his hunger was eating him alive, in the stead of the nourishment he refused it. We asked him why he still stayed in the area, hiding like a wraith in the sewers. He said it was because he had to make up for what he'd done. He had to look out for his sister's daughter, now that she couldn't herself..."

Oh. OHH!

The words collided with an old memory of Seth explaining the whole wolf thing-  
_"Why am I like this?!" I had cried__  
__"Well, there is another factor that is the catalyst really..." he shifted uncomfortably.__  
__"What is it?!"__  
__"Vampires...."_

_  
_So that was why I had phased so far away from La Push. Well, it did explain a lot. Oddly, I didn't feel emotional anymore. I was only upset in the first place 'cos I was thinking of Mom, but now I wasn't.

And I now marveled at the heroism of my uncle Seamus. I loved that man more than I could possibly say.

"Edward, is it...?" The blonde vampire murmured to him.  
"All is well. She has no grudge." He said, the slightest hint of relief flickering across his extraordinary white face.

However, the other new vampire with the freaky red eyes was glaring at me like _I'd_ just killed _her_ mom.

**Coming soon: Next from…Katherine! **

**Reviews, they're the key to saving the rainforests. **

**-FB**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey all chapter 21 has arrived *applause*!**

**And this one****'s from the uberly temperamental, and slightly scary Katherine. Enjoy!**

**Reviews = loved trees. No review means a tree is condemned to a life of loneliness.**

Chapter 21: Katherine: All the things she didn't say.

Oh for goodness sake! Could this get anymore convoluted? Who cares if the dog-girl's uncle is a vampire and who cares if he killed her mother? What mattered here was the Siren, that girl who'd just tried to kill us all, who was now standing just a few metres away looking tired and confused by the whole thing. I shot her a dark glance - I hadn't forgotten the way she'd made my head pound or the resounding pressure of Edward's fist colliding with my chest…the memory of all that humiliation made me want to blow. The rocks at my feet shuddered ominously, and I fought the snarl deep within my chest that threatened to make itself heard.

I shot a heavy glance at the wolf-girl. Tala, was that her name? I hadn't been paying attention. The small child in me puckered its lips – I didn't like the fact it appeared I had competition, and the more I thought about it, the more it wound me up.

"So everything's _well_, is it?" I murmured softly, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

Edward shot a glance my way, his eyes wary. I watched the way his hands curled protectively round Bella and felt my temper burn brighter – it wasn't right! None of this should be: there should be no vampires _protecting_ humans, no sirens with dangerous, painful voices, no dogs who lay stinking claims on other people's…. other people's…. For a moment I was confused, uncertain as I classified just what Amaryllis was to me. With a flash my brain returned with the image of her wide golden eyes, terrified as Alaizabel had arisen dripping from the water, and the rush of protective fury I had felt as I'd moved to protect her. She was my _family_, that's what she was. In my mind, rage reignited with a vengeance.

Amaryllis shot me a glance, but her eyes quickly returned to Tala's face. "Shush, Katherine." She reprimanded me.

She _reprimanded_ me. My already simmering temper bubbled, and the pressure in my mind began to churn itself up into gear. I didn't like being told to _shush _at the best of times, let alone now, and under my feet the pebbles of the beach were beginning to feel dangerously beyond my reach. I gritted my teeth against the urge to lash out, and won – almost.

"No – I won't shush!"

Amaryllis turned to stare at me, her eyebrows raged and her expression irritated.

"Katherine-" She began, but I cut across her.

"No." I shook my head, shutting out her words, "Just _no_ Amaryllis."

"Steady, Katherine..." Edward began, his face furrowing into a frown.

But my temper was beyond my control. As I glared at Amaryllis, my fists clenched into tight balls, the pressure in my mind ballooned to stretch beyond the contours of my brain. The rocks at my feet leapt into the air, exploding outwards in a hail of shards, as though someone had let off a stream of machine gun bullets in a flour factory. Edward shifted; curling his body round Bella to shield her from my rage, but the gesture cut me more – why did Amaryllis never do that to _me_? How could she stand there telling me to be quiet, looking peeved I'd interrupted her talk with this Tala person, when it was clear she knew more about a stranger than she did her best friend? Again, the pressure in my mind snapped outwards and I jerked my head in a bid to keep just some element of control. A tree to my right creaked ominously.

Edward growled, angry, "Careful!"

With a slight start I heard the edge of concern in his tone and spun sharply on my heel, acknowledging the good sense in his warning. If I was going to let rip, I'd be better doing it somewhere other than here.

But Amaryllis had other ideas. I could see her readying herself to cage me, to become my Geppetto. But I heard the whisper of her controlling pulse roaming towards me, and I started running for the forest. The trees either side of me exploded outwards, shards of bark from the detonation brushing my cheeks as soft as kisses as they flew outwards and I shot past.

"Katherine!" In the distance a voice called my name but I was too far gone.

I ran, the trees blowing in my wake. My throat swelled, choking my breathing, and I was forced to stop, my hands on my neck as I tried to fathom what was wrong. My chest ached and the bridge of my nose stung – with horror, I recognized the sensation. My body, frozen in perfection, was trying to _cry_. I dropped to the floor on bended knees, my hands wrapped around my waist. What was wrong with me? I knelt on the ground, my eyes closed as I tried to calm down. Never, in all the time I'd known with Amaryllis, had she made me cry. Was all this because of some stupid wolf girl?

But, truth be told, I was hurt. Why did Amaryllis know all this stuff about Tala? As far as I knew, she'd never enquired about my background – Christ, did she even know my last name (which was Webb)? Dimly, I shifted through the memories in my mind. It was like trying to see through thick pea-soup fog – I knew the answer was there just beyond my reach and I could see faces, feel emotions, recall… voices? But anything more, anything specific, was a struggle and so I gave up. A slight wave of depression hit me, I'd only been in this life a year and yet I'd lost so much already. My mind turned again to my family, my friends, to my home in England and the place I'd left behind, and a rush of jealousy coursed through my veins. It wasn't right that Amaryllis could know so much more about this other girl, not after everything I'd left behind for her. But in the back of my mind, a small voice reminded me of how little of a choice I'd had.

Then the wind blew. With a start, I picked out their scent – _vampires_. In a millisecond I was on my feet, defensive. From the gloom under the trees, two pale figures moved a man and a woman. Both had golden eyes, and warily I took a half step back.

"Leave me alone!"

The woman raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Call Edward, Emmett, tell him we've found her."

Looking at her more closely, I realised she was beautiful - slender, with a figure to die for, and soft golden hair that billowed around her god-like features. The brawny vampire at her side grinned, drawing from his pocket a slim silver phone.

"On it." He flashed a toothy smile and turned away, his fingers a blur as he typed a number on the keypad.

With a sudden rush of horror, I realised who these people were. Rosalie and Emmett, the two of the Cullens I had yet to meet, about to call Edward and Amaryllis to come fetch me – with a check to my temper I realised I wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Wait!" I shouted, my hand outstretched to take the phone from him.

The male, Emmett, paused. "Why?"

Rosalie shook her head, irritated. "Just make the damn call, and get them to come pick her up. I want to go home."

"_Picked up_?" The phrase sent shivers of anger up my spine – I wasn't some naughty schoolchild.

She nodded irritated, "Apparently," she motioned with her fingers to make quotation marks "you're too dangerous to be left alone."

And with a dry chuckle, Emmett made the call.

**RIGHT so, next chapter is from *grins* EMMETT!**

**He's going to give us some major comic relief and a nice bit of plot twist. You gotta love the Emmett-miester!**

**Some of you have already saved a few trees, don't let the rest down!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Woohoo! Chap 22, we've got it going on here people! **

**Right so this is from my favorite Cullen lad, Emmett! He was so unbelievably fun to write, I hope you enjoy him as much as I did (that sounded slightly dirty didn't? ignore me…. =S)**

**Remember how much we love trees (they give us oxygen for those of you drawing up a blank). If you review, I spare a tree. Therefore, reviews = act of fricking heroism!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 22: Emmett: Alternative therapy.

Edward picked up the phone a millisecond after the first tone.

"Emmett, is Katherine safe?" He asked lowly.

"Uh huh. She got a bit fussy, but I think she's calm now." I answered, grinning at how I had managed to lower the severity of Katherine's burst of anger into just "_fussy"_.

Edward obviously guessed I had done that too, and asked

"Are you and Rosalie alright aswell?"

Ok, there I laughed aloud.

"Ha, no Edward, I'm practically black and blue from being whipped by an emotional newborn!"

A log shuddered as Katherine over heard my remark.

"Not funny, Emmett. Just bring her back. We need to get this all straightened out." Edward replied, with such an edge to his voice, I could practically hear him rub his temples in frustration.

"Fine, but you might need to give us a while, I think Rose needs to get all the pine cones out of her hair. You know how she hates getting dirty." I grinned mischievously at my girl, who was sitting on a large boulder, doing precisely what I expected her to be doing - inspecting her hair in the compact mirror that never left her person. She glared at me, but continued to pick minute debris from her golden hair.

Edward chuckled on the other end of the line.  
"Yeh I get it. We'll wait for you back at the house. Goodbye" he said before the line clicked off.

I turned around as I slid the slim silver phone into my back pocket, meeting the furious stares of not one, but two female vampires.  
_uh oh_, went my mind. I grinned.

They started shouting on top of each other.  
"What do you mean '_emotional newborn' _?!"-  
"I am not waiting here any longer Emmett!" -  
"You don't own me, I'm not a pet!" -  
"And what was that remark 'she hates getting dirty' ?!"

Oops, Rose had picked up on that. I hung my head in mock school-boy shame, running my tongue over my lower teeth as I suppressed a flash of mischief. Rose narrowed her eyes at me, and flung the compact mirror at my head. I dodged it, as it sliced straight through a tree branch the thickness of my waist.

Even more infuriated that she's missed - and that she'd lost her mirror - she got up declared "I'm going home!" before darting off into the trees. I still saw her go get her mirror, before turning the right way to get home. No way would she leave that thing behind, it was like her own personal drug habit. I rolled my eyes before shaking my head as if shaking the matter off. Aw, she'd get over it at home, when I gave her a great big bear-hug. She was a big softie deep down beneath that gorgeous narcissistic exterior.

Deep, _deep_ down.

I totally realised then that Katherine was still staring at me.  
"Ok, I'm not going to drag you back," (I would if she got stroppy) "so, let's just go back nice and calm like, k?"

She turned her back on me, arms folded and nose held high. Eugh, I could handle one Rosalie, but two?!

"Please?" I pseudo-pleaded, even clasping my hands together and pouting my lower lip. "Pretty please?"

She turned around, glaring at me with the most incomprehensible expression.  
"What?" I asked, shaking slightly with a fit of quiet laughter.

"How are you so... _happy?"_ she sneered, like the word carried a bad smell with it.

Hmmm, I didn't really have an answer to that, so I just grinned some more.

"Eugh" she muttered, before sitting down on a rock. I really wasn't in the mood for dragging a newborn back to the house, so I just sat down next to her.

"So what's the problem then? What's with the major possession issues with Amaryllis?" I wondered aloud. I was never very good at being diplomatic.

"I haven't got possession issues, don't be daft." She muttered under her breath, inspecting her alabaster hands.

"Uh huh. And I get paper cuts." I sniggered.

"Why do you care anyway?" She retorted, glaring at me with frosty ruby eyes.

"I was just curious. I'd prefer to know why I had to keep you from going crazy, not just do it grinning like a dumbass. Rosalie is supposed to be the blonde." I said, nudging her in the shoulder as I said it. Katherine looked up at me and pursed her lips, non-subtly hiding a grin. I poked out my tongue, and the drawn mouth broke into a tiny smile.

"Americans" she giggled.

"So what _is_ the problem then?"

"Well... It's just. I don't really know how to put this. It's just your family are so... _together_. And me and her..." she trailed off a bit.

"You want to be as close as my family is. You sacrificed a lot and now you want your reward." I said, sympathizing totally.  
She nodded.  
"You know, I didn't just adjust to being a vampire like that." I said snapping my fingers. "I had a tough time in the beginning, cos I left behind a family. Not like a wife and kids or anything. But parents, siblings, a girlfriend. I didn't want to go back, but I was glad that I found some one to give me back what I couldn't get from them anymore."

"Rosalie" she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Ha, not just her. The whole family. I got a mom and dad, and a brother. Alice and Jasper came after I was adjusted. But you know Katherine, I get what you feel. I was just lucky enough to get it straight away. And you know what, by the way if you repeat this to anyone I will happily set the Volturi - or Rosalie - on you, but if you don't get what you need from Amaryllis, then you need to try...alternative therapy."

"Huh?" she said, dumbfounded. Great I was going to have to spell it out.

"Go find some one who gets you. Someone who gives you what you gave up. Get away from here." I said.

Katherine didn't say anything, but turned to stare into the forest.  
My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I stood up to reach it, and opened the line.

"Emmett, get home now." Edward gruff voice barked.

"What happened now? Did Rose throw a- "

"Alaizabel has run away." He snapped. There was obviously much more to it than that.

"Oh!"

"Bring Katherine. Now!" The line died.

"Ok Katherine, we gotta go." I said turning around to face the trembling vampire behind me, gesturing with my hand over my shoulder.  
She had the funniest expression on her face; it was like she'd just had an epiphany.

"Alaizabel's gone." I said gesturing for her to follow me.

"So have I" she said quietly before turning on her heels and running as fast as she could through the leaves, disappearing into the emerald air.

D_amn it _I thought. _Ed's gonna be pissed..._

_**Soooo? What do you think of Emmett? **_

_**Remember, the trees need you!**_

_**The next chapter will be back to Alaizabel, and we'll see what **__**really**__** happened back at Casa de Cullen!**_

_**-FB**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey all, sorry about the long delay, but school will be school. **

**So this my lovelies is from Alaizabel's P.o.V and we have a lovely little twist here!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 23: Run, run, run, as fast as you can. 

The Cullen mansion - usually so light and inviting - seemed like a freak show viewing now.

Everyone kept staring at me out of the corners of their eyes, like the way Edward used to when he didn't trust me. The same expression glinted in each gaze - pitying fear. I cannot describe to you how horrible that is; bad enough with one person, but with eleven?!  
At least Esme and Alice were pretending to comfort me. They'd wrapped me in thick Egyptian cotton towels, and made me mug after mug of (what I assumed was the very finest) Belgium hot chocolate. But they never once kept eye contact with me; it didn't take a Siren to see that.

Bella was the only one who looked me in the eye, it was like she was trying to communicate something, but I couldn't guess. I gave up after a while, and stared blankly at the light wooden floor panels. The muttering in the kitchen became just a drone.

Because I had nothing to visually or aurally concentrate on, my mind started to turn on itself. You know when you analyze a situation and think of all the possible ways it could have gone better had you been just that bit smarter, or perceptive. But I wasn't thinking of how it _could_ have gone, I was thinking about how it _would_ go: what would happen next.

Multiple situations ran through my strained mind:

a) I would be deemed to dangerous to continue living and be executed,

b) I would just disappear from the world - all evidence that I even existed gone too,

c) I would be sent somewhere to learn to control my self - or just keep everyone else out of danger,

d) The Cullens would leave me here,

e) The wolves would take me to their elders for questioning.

All of them made sense, yet none of them seemed likely. The Cullens or the wolves wouldn't kill me, Carlisle thought life was sacred and the Quileutes kind of existed to protect life in the first place, plus they'd have to deal with my dad - I'd said I was staying with them for the weekend, not the rest of my life! So that ruled out destroying my records too, not only would they have to kill my father, but the whole high school and many back in the United Kingdom. Sending me somewhere - again my father would be an obstacle, and besides where would I go, where _could_ I go?

The Cullens would not leave; I knew the history between Edward and Bella, and what had happened to her last time they'd left. If I knew Edward at all (and I credited myself on being able to tell things about people that most others missed) he would rather see the world burn than put Bella through any kind of agony again. No, they'd stay here like their feet were super glued to the green ferns that covered the forest floor.

And the wolves would waste their time questioning me, I knew as much as they did about my 'condition'. They'd have better luck asking Amaya.

Amaya. Of all the people in the house whom I expected to comfort me, talk to me even, she was the one. Yet she had be the most distant of all. She had not spoken a word to me, not looked at me, and not even been in the same room as me since we'd arrived back. My mentor was distancing herself; it was like I was a plague victim. My only hope had rejected me.

That left me with one option. If I wouldn't be sent away by anyone, I would send _myself_. I needed to get as far away from here as possible. I had ruined everything, and I needed to take responsibility for it. My mind started to run away with wrongs that seemed to be my entire fault: If it hadn't been for me, the Cullens would never have had to fear me, if I had not existed then Amaryllis would not have turned Katherine, my mother would still be alive. We would still be in green rainy England and I would be having tea and McVities instead of coffee and Oreos. My dad would talk to me. Amaya would never have been hurt. Amaryllis wouldn't have waged a one-woman war against all Sirens. Sirens everywhere would be safe. Edward wouldn't fear so much for Bella. All of this could have been prevented. I needed to get away.

"Alaizabel, you don't understand the situation. You're thinking too self-deprecatingly." said a velvet voice. I looked up into the dark honey eyes of Edward Cullen. Usually his beauty would have made me incoherent and bumbling, and although it still cut me to the core, I felt guilty that his unearthly features should be creased so wonderfully in concern. I didn't answer him.

"I know what you're feeling. You shouldn't go. We are going to aid you." He said to the emptiness, sitting next to me. I leaned away from him slightly, I felt ashamed to be near him. He reached out with long elegant fingers and slid the long-cold hot chocolate out of my hands, placing it on the side table. I hadn't tasted a drop of it. As soon as the mug was out of my hands, I hid them within the folds of the towel that shrouded me like a cocoon. To add more to the overwhelming guilt that was weighing me down like a cannon ball, I scowled at myself for not drinking a clearly expensive and considerately made drink.

"Alaizabel, you beating yourself up isn't going to make it any better. You need to know that none of us blame you for what happened. I'm sure Katherine will re-iterate that when she gets back." He said.

_She hates me and you know it._ I thought. Edward shook his head slightly.

"No she doesn't. Not really. She's angrier that she couldn't beat you, at herself."

_Whatever. I'm still a freak. A dangerous one_.

"Alaizabel," he said in a bleak tone "You are as dangerous as me. Yet, I don't see you fearing me. I don't see anyone here fearing me - even Bella." He frowned slightly at the last words, like he was annoyed about their meaning. I didn't care.

"And if you think _you're_ a freak, well then _I_ am practically monstrous." he said.

I thought he meant it humorously, but his face was dark. He meant it very seriously. His face looked accusing, but like he was sneering in repulsion at his reflection in the glass, not at anything that lay beyond it. I literally dropped my jaw as I contemplated how such a wonderful, beautiful creature as him could possibly compare his perfection with the grotesque evil that nested in my breast. I couldn't take it anymore, seeing him look like that, but I had not the energy to move, nor the will to walk through a room full of people who would only become silent and staring in my presence.

_Please Edward. Leave me be._

_  
_He got up with a sigh, and extended his arm slightly as if to pat my shoulder. But he withdrew, probably thinking better, and waltzed gracefully into the kitchen.

Rosalie came flying through the door, glared at me distastefully, before gliding into the kitchen as well. No Emmett or Katherine though.

I too stood up and went to the window, pressing my cheek against the freezing glass and watching the twilight turn to dusk, attempting in vain to spot any sign of the other missing vampires.

That was when I heard it.

"Amaryllis. I am worried about her." Edward purred from the kitchen. Why was it that I could pick out his voice among the general buzz? Was it the genuine (and frankly undeserved) concern that brewed within it?

"I can comprehend that." She clipped. A piece of glass clinked.

"I think she's really on the verge. She blames herself for everything that has happened."

"hmm." Amaryllis murmured thoughtfully.

"No I do not agree with that sentiment!" Edward growled, appalled.

"I was just wondering." She chimed with innocence. The buzz in the background had become noticeably quieter.

"You are on dangerous territory, Amaryllis." he snapped.

"This has gone far enough. You obviously cannot handle this." sneered the Greek vampire. Alice gasped somewhere in the background.

"No, d-!" he said, before cutting off.

In fact, every one in the kitchen had gone quiet. There was not a single noise. Confused, I turned around intent on investigating, only to see Amaryllis walking into the room. She came right up to me and stared directly into my eyes with her coppery honey ones. I almost died from the beauty.

"You feel alone, don't you." she said, her accent thick and exotic. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"You feel guilty for everything that you've done." She stared at me accusingly. I nodded.

"You want to make it right?" she growled. Again I nodded, stepping a small step away from her. This was the end, I knew it. I would die right here on this very spot, in a whirl of teeth and blood and screaming. A reminder about an essay for school rudely popped up and had it not been for the tension, I would have laughed at the stupidity of the thought.

Her eyes narrowed, the focus lingering slightly too long on my neck as she scanned my face. I swear I could feel a tear running down my cheek, but I didn't dare move my hand to feel for it.

"Then do what you think is right." I blinked.

"Get out of here." I blinked again.

"Go!" she shrieked.

Something clicked in my mind, and my legs found Titan strength. I had never run so fast in my entire life. I think it even rivaled the speed of the Cullens. I was running, sprinting, streaking past trees like lightning, my limbs never faltering, and my breath never slowing.  
I was getting as far away from here as possible, grasping at my chance to escape.

I was going home.

**So? Liking it my lovelies? **

**Coming soon****: next chapter from Edward, we'll see an alternative view of this chapter!**

**Review and save a tree. Or the Ents might come get you.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Ey up dearies! Righty, so this is the next chapter and the OFFICIAL last one of this 'book'. The story will continue in a new story named "The Raging Storm" which will be the last part of this trilogy, so keep a look out for it.**

**Ok, so in this, we are back to Edward, and we see an alternate perspective of what happened in the last chapter.**

**ENJOY!**

Chapter 24: Edward: When it rains it pours.

Her thoughts were so morbid, had I been able to, I am sure I would have gone green.

Over and over she thought of her impending doom, or more precisely, what she thought would happen. Over and over and over. And the whole time I could not help but to consider how this depression was my blunder. I had caused this by being foolish and not connecting the dots. Had I only paid attention to the murmurings of Alaizabel's memory when she saw Katherine, had I figured it out earlier – then we wouldn't have a half crazed and potentially suicidal Siren on our hands, and a temperamental violent teenage vampire on the other! I may have been able to deal with the situation, had Amaryllis had better control over Katherine. Had Amaryllis never turned Katherine in the first place.

It wasn't fair how Alaizabel was blaming herself. This was all wrong. She - who was usually quite irrepressible and beaming – was now the picture of Grim himself, drained hollow cheeks, wide staring eyes. Haunted eyes. I hated myself every time I caught a glimpse of her in the reflective windows. She was staring into space, the large ink spot where her pupils had grown even larger. There was no stormy steel grey left in her eyes, they were as black as jet and as empty as beggar's purse. I had erased her soul, and the guilt tore me apart like a slab of meat in a lions den. Wasn't it for the very reason of preserving a soul that I had refused to turn Bella, one who with any other situation I would have been happy to spend eternity with. Although I (shamefully) was thankful that I had not inflicted this upon Bella, whatever remained of my morality spat at me for permitting such a heinous act to occur to another innocent.

I went over to Alaizabel, intent on dispelling her thoughts.

"I know what you are feeling. You shouldn't go. We are going to aid you." I said. And I was deadly serious, I was not going to be as irresponsible as to steal her soul and then leave her alone. That would make me the creature I tried so hard not to be. As bad as the Volturi – when they chose to forsake their peacekeeping duties of course. I had to remind myself that they were not the enemy. Not in theory anyway.

Alaizabel shifted her body weight to lean away from me. Lord, did I disgust her so? No,_ she_ was ashamed to be near _me_! This was ridiculous. Her focus on her hands was slipping, and the mug of untouched hot chocolate (surely the fifth one) was starting to shift, dislodging. I leant over to alleviate her of it, and her eyes widened as I took the mug, the black of them enhancing her "deer in headlights" appearance. Immediately her hands disappeared into the towel she was draped in. She was afraid to be in my vicinity, her body language said it even if she didn't think it. Again she started chastising herself for not drinking.

"Alaizabel, you beating yourself up isn't going to make it any better. You need to know that none of us blame you for what happened. I'm sure Katherine will re-iterate that when she gets back." I said, feigning a small smile and hoping it seemed re-assuring. She turned her head towards me, staring at me with unblinking dark eyes.

Incredulity tainted her thought's tone. _She hates me and you know it_.

My smile faltered and it pulled into a grimace. I tried to counter her claim.

_Whatever. I'm still a freak. A dangerous one._ She mumbled feebly inside her skull.

"You are as dangerous as me. Yet I don't see you fearing me. I don't see anyone fearing me - even Bella" I said, and immediately regretted it. I was tired of being shocked that Bella never seemed to react normally to me. Or anything else by that matter. The very mention of a Siren who could make your greatest fear your one desire in an attempt to kill you would strike fear into the hearts and minds of most people as they imagined their pet phobias becoming reality. Oh, but not her. Her initial response was curiosity. Look first, worry later. She still didn't understand what I was – what I had to stop myself from being.

"And if you think you're a freak, well then I am practically monstrous" I muttered. My thoughts turned black. Practically? I was a monster for what I'd dragged Alaizabel, my family, Bella into. Thank God she'd finally agreed to go home. I couldn't contend with keeping her safe and looking after another.

_What did that mean? He's _**_not_**_ a monster. He's an angel._ Alaizabel thought suddenly. Her thoughts were totally, unjustifiably protective. I hid a grimace of displeasure.

She silently requested that I leave her be, and I acquiesced. I meant to grasp her shoulder in what I suppose should have seemed comforting, but thought twice. She already flinched when I sat next to her, why put her through more discomfort?

I walked back into the kitchen and away from the haunted girl. My family was standing around, mingled with the wolves, Amaya worriedly following the conversation but keeping silent. Inside her mind she was terrified. She didn't know how her kind would deal with this vampire and her subordinate who had waged war on them. She didn't want to fight vampires, she actually thought that an alliance would have been better, but the blows she sustained against Katherine still had her shaken. Plus the fact that she was utterly convinced that the reason that her first charge had (seemingly) gone insane was her fault. What was it with these Sirens and self-deprecation!?

Amaryllis was still on a bar stool, fingering a piece of delicate crystal glassware between her elegant ivory fingers. She was the only one not engaged in conversation, so I spoke to her.

"Amaryllis. I am worried about her." I said softly.

"I can comprehend that." She clipped. _She seems catatonic. Are things really that serious? _She thought. The voice had a strange edge to it. Guilty, yet perversely fascinated.

"I think she's really on the verge. She blames herself for everything that has happened." I clarified.

"Hmm." _And she has good reason to. Maybe…you'd be better off just letting her go – I could always… _her thoughts drifted to images of teeth, blood and screaming.

"No I do not agree with that sentiment!" I growled. Where did that come from? How had she got it into her mind that I would condone such acts?

"I was just wondering." She said, feigning innocence but I knew better ._Very well, maybe not so drastic, but you _**_need_**_ to do something – I can help you. And if you don't act, I will. _She flashed me the smallest of brutal smiles.

"You are on dangerous territory, Amaryllis." I barked. My family was still talking, but they were gazing at us hesitantly. Only then did I notice Rosalie was among us. Emmett and Katherine were nowhere to be seen. Still in the woods I deduced from her irritated thoughts.

"This has gone far enough. You obviously cannot handle this." _My turn, Edward._ Amaryllis hissed.

I knew what would happen, before the thought was in her mind. But I still couldn't outrun it. She was bubbling, her paralyzing power seeping out of her and flowing towards me and the rest of us. I would be rendered powerless for the first time since Jane had bruised me with her pain.

"No, d-!" I managed with get out before I was stuck, my jaw half open and eyes unable to move in their sockets. But I could still hear, and the rest of my family fell silent within a nanosecond of me.

Now all I could hear was the soft _clunk!_ of Amaryllis' shoes on the floor boards, the beating of a few hearts, and most clearly Alaizabel's thoughts.

_Hmm… its gone quiet. What was all that about?_ She thought naively.

_This needs to be put to bed. She's not safe, even for you, Cullen. _Amaryllis thought. Inside I seethed.

I heard her footsteps stop.

"You feel alone, don't you." she said. Inside, Alaizabel yelped. _What the hell? What's going on? How the hell does she know…?_

"You feel guilty for everything that you've done." Amaryllis purred.

_You should feel guilty, you little murderess._

Alaizabel was panicking silently, her heart racing increasing.

_I know where she's going, and I don't like it. When the hell did they slip a bug in my brain? Edward told me it was only him who could read minds._

Inside my head, I was exploding.

_I am the only one who can read minds – Damn it, run! Why aren't you running?!_

"You want to make it right?" Amaryllis asked but she thought; _Not that there's any way you can – our versions of right are very separate – such a shame yours is wrong._

_Edward! _Alice screamed in her mind. _I don't know what's going to happen! I can't see anything! _I wasn't all that surprised. Not only where there Sirens here, but the Quileutes ruined Alice's vision too. But this was bad. I had no idea how this was going to turn out. And my mind kept flicking to the worst possible situation.

Alaizabel's thoughts were racing, as were my own. I tried making the tiniest of noises, but my vocal chords sulked and stayed silent.

_Oh my God _Alaizabel thought._ She's actually going to…Oh crap, I forgot that essay – wait, I'm about to die and I think of essays?! Stupid girl! Why can't I run!?_

It was such an Alaizabel thing to think that I would have laughed normally, if I could laugh at all.

Suddenly, a dull thudding was heard in the distance: A couple of the wolves inspecting the forest for the new vampires. Amaryllis heard them too.

Alice sighed in relief internally. _Maybe they'll spook her, it might be__ ok!_

_No it is not_. I countered.

"Then do what you think is right." The Greek vampire growled

Alaizabel's mind whipped quickly over the options she had thought of earlier and she suppressed a shudder, the floorboards creaked slightly as she did.

_Here it comes... brace your self – and don't think of heaven – or the alternative._ She thought

"Get out of here"

Alaizabel's mind – like half the room – where all thinking _"WHAT!?!"_

"Go!" screeched the vampire. Suddenly the stiffness in my limbs loosened slightly, and I found that once again I could blink, and breathe, the smells of the room hitting me with a powerful wall of odor. Amaryllis had loosened her grip on us so she could propel the Siren though the woods. And she was going inhumanly fast, only a vampire could have controlled her to make her go that fast. By the time the power on me had faded completely, Alaizabel was too far away for me to tell where she was going.

The whole room turned on Amaryllis.

"What the hell was that!?" stormed Rosalie, before releasing a string of profanities.

Immediately I picked the phone up and instructed Emmett to get back. We'd need all the team to track her down. I turned to Jacob and the other two.

"Go after her, but be gentle. Don't let her get hurt!"

They phased right then and there, but nobody cared that there were three huge wolves suddenly in the middle of our house. Amaya grabbed Seth's tail just as he was heading out the door.

"Please take me with you. Please?!" She pleaded. He made a noise somwhere between a bark and a yelp, and in one sooth movement, she was crouched low over his sandy fur, and was disappearing with the others into the deep black.

Jacob was slightly irritated with Seth

_You can__'t just let her ride on you. You're not a pet!_

_Oh, come on Jake! You would have left her?_

_Well, to be honest-_

_Jacob, don't lie._ Interjected Tala._ You would have worn a collar if __**she'd **__asked you to. _

There was a distinctly haughty tone about Tala's words, like she was less than happy that what she was saying was true. But that was trivial. Back in the house, a totally different situation was unfurling.

"You can't just do that!" Rose continued to shout.

"I just did." Amaryllis replied soberly.

That was enough. Rose lost her temper, dropped into a crouch and launched herself across the room, smacking straight into Amaryllis. Claws flew and growls ripped. Finally Esme and Carlisle had Rosalie off the floor while Alice and Jasper had Amaryllis restrained. Esme was mumbling something about fixing Rose's jacket: _Vintage Chanel, the bitch!_ Rose boiled inside with rage. I rolled my eyes, so like Rose to get upset over fashion at a time like this.

_You know, when I used to fight, we'd have ways of dealing with this behaviour_ reminisced Jasper, directly at me.

_Edward, I can see it now. Amaryllis dies.__._ Alice thought, flickering over a vision. Amaryllis' torn body on a pyre.

I was more than ready to do it.

Dropping into my own lion-esque crouch I readied myself for a bite to the jugular that would crush her neck like a soda can. Amaryllis was glaring at me defiantly, although her thoughts mumbled and gibbered in Greek, a final prayer to her gods.

As the snarl built in my throat, Emmett burst through the door.

"What the!?" He exclaimed. My snarl stopped and Alice warned me, the vision had back tracked. No death among the un-dead today.

"Where's Katherine?!" Amaryllis spluttered.

Emmett looked at me with his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

_Sorry, she kind of got away._

I slapped my head into my hands so loudly, I was sure the crack could be heard for miles.

**Oh my goodness, we've finished No. 2 of the "storm" trilogy!!!**

**How did you like this book as a whole, or even just this chapter – tell me what you think will happen next, I'm dying to hear your thoughts!**

**-FB**


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